Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?
by Anime PJ
Summary: Getting a new neighbour is always interesting. It's made even MORE interesting when his arrival happens to coincide with the beginning of a murder mystery. It becomes downright INSANELY interesting when you throw an alternate dimension hidden inside the TV to the mix ... My name is Yasuhide Kusuhara, and this is how my neighbour for a year, Yu Narukami, changed my life. (P4:G)
1. Monday, 11 April - Tuesday, 12 April 201

**Welcome to another story by yours truly! I don't know how many of you will remember this, but I actually used to have a _Persona_ story, one that I ended up deleting. Well, this isn't so much a rewrite as it is a … second attempt, shall we say. I've read a lot of the other stories in this category, and they all have me in awe of how the authors can come up with so much original stuff to go into the storyline; I'm not confident in my ability to do what they did, but I'm going to try my best. God knows I want this to be good …**

 **The pairings have already been decided. They are as follows: Yu/Yukiko; Yosuke/Chie; OC/Rise; Kanji/Naoto. I was going to go with the pairing I had in my old story – that being OC/Naoto – but I thought better of it. As much as I love Naoto as a character, I found it easier to think about the story as an OC/Rise story. I _might_ still do an OC/Naoto story, but it would have to be based exclusively on the animé since I'm not confident in my ability to write two stories of this length while still keeping things fresh.**

 **I also plan on doing a story for _Persona 3_ , but I doubt that'll be for quite a while.**

 **Credit where credit is due, I've not played _Persona 4: The Golden_ , so I've been basing this on a let's play on YouTube – the guy I've been watching is SuperJeenius.**

 **Oh, and since the game was so inconsistent with the use of honorifics, I've simply removed them to make things easier on myself.**

 **Well, that's basically all I have to say, so without further ado, let's begin!**

 _ **(Update 30/06/2017: I've gone back and added on all the honorifics to this chapter, as well as adding a few details here and there.)**_

* * *

Monday, 11 April - Tuesday, 12 April 2011

 _Monday, 11 April 2011_

I spent that rather gloomy night in April eating ramen in the shopping district of my home town Yasoinaba – or just Inaba to us locals. I ate alone, as I always did. I find that eating alone allows one time to think that they wouldn't get when eating with other people, so I tended to eat on my own whenever possible. I stuffed the last bit of noodles and beef into my mouth and then got my wallet out and sorted out the money for the food.

"Wonderful food as usual, Aika-san," I said to the girl who came over to get my dish and collect my money. "My evenings will be forever pleasant as long as this place stays open."

"Glad you liked it," said Aika-san in her deadpan voice, but there was a slight smile on her face. I only every saw her smile in here; I guess she just really liked her work. She was short for her age, sixteen, with pale skin, brown eyes, and navy blue hair that didn't even come down to her shoulders. She was in her work clothes, which consisted of a short-sleeved white shirt, a matching white skirt, a red apron, white headscarf. She worked at this place, "Aia's," because her family ran the joint. "Will that be all, or would you like something else before we close for the night?"

"I'm stuffed full, I'm afraid," I said, grinning. I stood from the stool I was seated on and turned to leave. "I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Yasuhide-san," she said.

As I exited the shop I took in the darkness of the shopping district. It wasn't so late that it should be this dark, but the weather had been rather unpleasant as of late, so it didn't really come as a surprise. I could tell from the greyness of the sky that it was going to rain very soon, so it would probably be best to take the bus home rather than taking a leisurely stroll through the town as I was so accustomed to doing. I still walked slow, though, as I rather enjoyed this time to myself. The bus stop was only about five minutes down the road, anyhow. I took off down the street at a leisurely pace.

As I walked down the street, I reflected in sadness upon all the closed-down stores I passed along the way. The stores had started to close down a couple of months beforehand, when the superstore Junes opened up in town. The place had everything the shopping district had and more, so it made sense that people would start to do their shopping there, but still … the stores in the shopping district were mostly family-run businesses and they relied on their customers to give their family a livelihood. A lot of them had to close when Junes showed up because, due to the loss of customers, they could no longer afford to keep their stores open, and that saddened me greatly. These stores held real historical significance for some of these families, and they had to close them down, just like that. It had lead to a real hatred of Junes in the locals and it was easy to see why.

While I didn't _hate_ Junes for all this – the store was a lot more convenient to most people and it was easy to see why they'd rather shop there – I was still saddened by what its existence was doing to my home town. I tried to get what I needed from the shopping district whenever I could in hopes that I could help keep a few businesses afloat.

I reached the bus stop, checked the schedule, and cursed under my breath. I had been in the ramen shop a lot longer than I thought – the buses had stopped for the night.

 _Now what?_ I thought. I looked up at the sky and saw that the rain was not far off. I enjoyed the rain and found it comforting, but that was normally when I was inside and listening to its _pitter-patter_ against the windows. I really didn't want to go home soaking wet – my mother would kill me, for one thing. And then my asshole little brother would rub my face in the trouble I would get into when I left wet footprints on the hallway carpet. I really couldn't be bothered with all the fuss tonight, but what could I do? Run home? I doubted I'd make it even then. _There's no point … I'm fucked …_

But fucked I was not. Apparently fate was on my side that day, something that would come to be quite a rarity in the year that followed …

An old-looking grey SUV pulled into the gas station just across the street from the bus stop and was greeted by the attendant before the occupants had even gotten out of the car – not that I needed them to get out to know whose car it was. The guy was my next door neighbour, for Christ's sake. Thinking back on something I'd heard him say a few days beforehand, I thought he was probably going back home after picking up his nephew from the train station. Seeing as I lived just next door, I figured I'd try my luck asking him for a ride. I didn't think he would be very likely to say no.

As I was making my way across the street, the door on the driver's side of the car opened and the driver stepped out. His name was Ryotaro Dojima. He was a middle-aged Caucasian man with a fair amount of stubble growing on the bottom half of his slightly rough-looking face. His hair was relatively short, dark, and greying. His eyes were black, too. He wore a grey shirt with the two top buttons undone and a loose red tie. His bottom half was clothed in black trousers, held up by a belt, and black shoes.

The door on the other side of the car opened and out stepped Ryotaro-san's daughter, Nanako Dojima. She was a small girl of six years old. Her Caucasian skin was of the paler sort, and her brown hair was tied in a pigtail on either side of her head. Her brown eyes matched her hair. She wore a pink and red dress over a white turtle-neck. On her feet were a pair of white socks and pink shoes.

"It's on the left," the attendant said to Nanako-chan as I approached. "You know which way is left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." The attendant, despite blatantly being male, had a rather feminine voice quality.

"I know, I know," said Nanako-chan irritably. "Jeez …" She wondered around the back of the building and to the left.

"You guys going on a trip?" the attendant asked Ryotaro-san.

"No, we just went to pick him up," said Ryotaro-san. "He just moved here from the big city."

It was around this point that the back door of the car opened and out stepped a third individual, this one I didn't recognise. He was around my age – sixteen – and was rather tall for a teenager. He had Caucasian skin and a bowl-cut hairstyle; his hair was grey, somewhat giving him the appearance of an old man. His eyes were as grey as his hair. He was wearing a black jacket over a grey turtle-neck, along with black trousers and trainers.

It didn't take long for me to figure out that this was Ryotaro-san's nephew.

"Hey, Ryotaro-san," I said as I stopped walking just next to the gathered group.

"Hey, Yasuhide, what are you doing here?" asked Ryotaro-san.

"Waiting for the bus," I told him. I made a show of looking at the rapidly greying sky. "But it looks like the weather's not gonna let me wait in peace. Do you mind if I catch a ride home with you guys?"

Ryotaro-san sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. I got the feeling that this had more to do with tiredness than it did my request. "Yeah, sure," he said. "You just get acquainted with my nephew here until I get back. Good a time as any for a smoke … Fill up my car while you're at it," he said to the attendant. "Regular's fine."

"Right away, sir!" said the attendant with a strange enthusiasm.

I turned to face Ryotaro-san's nephew. His face was strangely blank, vacant, but it was also a face I could picture the girls at school going crazy over. It took little more than a glance in order for me to peg him as the strong, silent type.

"Hi," I said friendlily. I put on my best smile. "I'm Kusuhara Yasuhide. I live next door to your uncle."

He gave me a barely visible nod. "I'm Narukami Yu," he said.

"Are you in high school?" asked the attendant. He was looking at Narukami-san while filling up the car.

"… Yeah," said Narukami-san. The sudden start of a conversation with the attendant seemed to have caught him off guard somewhat.

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?" the attendant continued to probe. "There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends," he threw a brief nod at me, "or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." He stepped away from the filling car and approached Yu. "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student." He held out his hand for a handshake.

"… Sure," Narukami-san said. His hesitation was understandable – he had only just got into town and already he was being offered a part-time job at the local gas station. Nevertheless, he accepted the handshake.

There were footsteps nearby and Nanako-chan turned the corner to rejoin us.

"Oh, I should get back to work," said the attendant. He moved to continue filling up the car.

"Hey there, Nanako-chan," I greeted the young girl as she approached. I smiled widely at her, and it was probably the closest to a real smile most people got from me – she had that effect on people. "I'll be hitching a ride home with you guys, 'kay?"

"… Okay," she said. She was staring tentatively at Narukami-san. It probably had something to do with the fact that she'd never met the guy, and he was just suddenly moving into her house.

I went to speak to Narukami-san again, but stopped short when I noticed him stumbling slightly and holding his head in apparent pain. "You okay?" I asked in concern.

"Did you get carsick?" Nanako-chan asked. "You don't look too good …"

He was silent for a moment in apparent thought. "Now that you mention it," he said, "I do feel a little dizzy …"

"I think we've got pills for carsickness in the medicine cabinet at home," I said helpfully. "I can drop some around to you when we get there, if you want."

"Sure, thanks," he said. He gave a barely visible smile.

It was a strange feeling that overcame me then. I hadn't even known the guy for ten minutes, and he didn't exactly strike me as a social butterfly, but … I can honestly say that I think I liked him from the very beginning. He just had this … _air_ about him, like you could trust him with anything. Despite his lack of contribution to conversation, he just had a feeling about him of being an incredibly open person. I knew then and there that I wanted to make friends with him.

Ryotaro-san came back from his smoke and stopped short upon seeing Narukami-san. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You okay?"

"It's nothing," Narukami-san said.

I wanted to call bullshit on him. He was looking so queasy that Ryotaro-san had noticed something was wrong the second he'd gotten back. I kept my mouth shut, though. I had said I would drop in some pills for the carsickness when we got to the house, and that was what I was going to do. Come to think of it, it was probably the fact that he knew the solution to the problem was right around the corner that made him lie to Ryotaro-san like he had.

"It must've been a long trip for you," said Ryotaro-san. "Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go." He nodded at me. "Why don't you go with him, Yasuhide? You're gonna be going to school together, so you might as well get to know each other."

I shrugged. "I see no problem with that," I conceded.

Narukami-san wandered in a particular direction just up the street; he seemed to being heading towards something specific. It was then that I noticed he was walking towards a girl. She had pale Caucasian skin, chin-length hair that went from brown to black, and grey eyes. She had a small amount of make-up on, with her shadowed eyes and bright pink lipstick. She was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and red protective sleeves with a pattern of black stripes; she also sported a short black neck tie with various safety pins. Her bottom half was clothed with a red chequered skirt and a black belt with a fancy golden buckle that resembled a heart with wings; there were also white stockings with black stripes. Her boots were long and black with dark grey heels.

Narukami-san approached her and she looked up at him. "Hm …? Have we met before?" she asked.

"I met you just now," said Narukami-san.

"Just now …?" said the girl. "Hmm, okay." She seemed to just go off into her own little world after that.

Narukami-san and I walked a little more down the street together – I did a double-take at one point because I thought I saw a glowing blue butterfly – and I took note of how Narukami-san seemed to observe everything, even if it didn't seem all that special. He took notice of the book store and the local metalworks before I finally decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, what was all that about?" I asked. "No offence or anything, but walking up to random girls in the street isn't something people usually do around here."

"We met at the train station," he said absent-mindedly. "I dropped something and she gave it back."

"Huh," I said, and clicked my tongue. "Well, she must be a bit of an airhead, then. She didn't seem to remember you." _Come to think of it,_ I added in my mind, _I don't recognise her … that's weird._ In a small town like Inaba, even if you didn't know them all, you came to recognise the faces of pretty much everyone in town sooner or later. But I had never seen that girl before …

Narukami-san had absently wandered near an old man. I once again took note of something strange about him. His movements _seemed_ absent, but he always seemed to know exactly where he was going at the same time …

"You have something to do in this shopping district?" the old man asked Narukami-san. That's the thing with old people – they always seemed eager to impart knowledge onto the younger generation. "It's a bit run down, but we have everything here. It used to be a lot more prosperous back in the day, but we only see regulars nowadays. If only Junes hadn't come into town … It's convenient, but it's still a little sad."

The old man's speech became mumbling from then on. Narukami-san and I began walking down the street again at a leisurely pace.

"I kinda like doing this," I said. I didn't know why I started talking, but I just felt like it. "Walking, I mean. Just a casual stroll through town. I find it relaxing. What about you?"

He nodded in apparent agreement. "It's okay," he said. "I just like seeing what I can find when I'm out for a walk."

"… Okay." I couldn't really relate to that. Having grown up in such a small town, I had gotten so used to the surroundings over the years that anything truly new to be found – whether I'm out for a walk or not – would probably boggle my mind. What can I say? I like Inaba; the sense of familiarity comforts me. And believe me, there are some days when I truly need the comfort.

The next place Narukami-san decided to stop and observe was the Marukyu tofu shop. I liked the tofu, and I stopped in there at least once a week to stock up on it, but … even after all these years I felt a twinge in my heart as I looked at the place, and for a brief moment I'd have given anything to be somewhere else. The old lady who ran the place – she was probably preparing to close up for the night – saw me through the window and waved, a huge smile on her face. I waved back and smiled, too, but mine was more forced.

"The tofu here's good," I said to Narukami-san in an attempt to get my mind off the depressed tangent it was about to go on. "I stop in every week. I'll buy you some sometime, if you want? Think of it as a 'welcome to town' present."

"Thanks," he said, and that was it.

As we walked down the street together, not only was I trying to find some way to start up a conversation, but we ended up overhearing a conversation between two students from my school – I didn't recognise either of them, but it was evident from their conversation that they were siblings. It was something about the guy's sister stealing a snack of his from the fridge, I think; I wasn't really listening. I was more confused by the fact that they were wearing their uniforms when we didn't go back to school until the next day.

"There's not really a lot to the shopping district," I said as we reached the end of the street. "It's like that old guy said, there hasn't been nearly as much here since Junes got moved in."

"Junes?" asked Narukami-san.

"They're this big superstore that sell food, electronics, toys, and an abundance of other shit," I explained to him. "It's convenient and relatively cheap. The downside is that it's putting a lot of stores down here out of business, so most of the locals aren't too fond of the place."

"What about you?"

"Me? I could give or take it, to tell you the truth. I come down here for anything I need, but if they don't have it I go to Junes instead. But let me tell you, there's one thing that Junes will never be able to beat: the local food. Seriously, if you want to eat well, come down here to the shopping district, the food down here's way better in quality than that fast food crap they serve at the Junes food court."

"… I see," Narukami-san said.

We were walking back down the street and to the gas station now. The entire walk had taken little more than five minutes, which came as a surprise. The entire time I couldn't stop thinking about Yu's rather charming oddness; he was the only person I'd ever met who seemed to want to take in every little detail of his surroundings. So far, he had spoken only when directly spoken to, and that told me he was probably a much better listener than he was a speaker. And that strangely friendly air he gave off …

"How're you feeling?" Ryotaro-san asked Narukami-san. I did a double-take; I had apparently been so deep in thought that we'd walked all the way back and I hadn't noticed. "Ready to get back in the car?"

"I'm ready," said Narukami-san.

"All right," said Ryotaro-san, "let's hit the road, then."

We got in the car – Nanako-chan in the front next to her father, Narukami-san and I sat in the back. There was a fair amount of leg room, even with Narukami-san's bag of luggage, so I was able to get relatively comfortable.

"So," said Ryotaro-san once he'd started driving, "you two getting along okay?" The question was directed at Narukami-san and I.

"Yeah," said Narukami-san.

"Uh-huh," I said, nodding. "I get the feeling we'll be getting along just fine."

"Good," said Ryotaro-san. There was a pause. "Will your okaa-san be home when we get there, Yasuhide?"

"Should be," I told him. "She gets off work at about five-thirty, so she should've gotten home about half an hour ago."

"Okay," he said.

There was no more conversation for the rest of the drive.

* * *

We arrived at the residential street, and Ryotaro-san parked the car just outside of his house. It was a rather tightly packed street, with a lot of houses crammed together. Not many of the houses had front gardens, and those that did had really small ones. It wasn't a bad place to live, mind you, just a little tightly packed in.

I opened the car door and stepped out. "I'll be over with the carsickness pills in a minute," I said to Narukami-san, leaning into the car.

I walked into the house just next door to the Dojima residence. My house looked much the same as theirs did: bland and greying. I walked into the house and down the very short corridor into the living room, where my okaa-san was sat watching TV.

Her skin was a slightly darker shade of Caucasian, and her hair was a long, wavy, greying red – she was middle-aged. Her eyes were brown and a little smaller than usual, but her face as a whole was still considered quite beautiful. She was a little taller than most women and had a slightly narrow build. She was wearing a blue sweater and a knee-length brown skirt; on her feet were a pair of yellow and green trainers. Her name was Takara Kusuhara.

"Hey, okaa-san, I'm home," I said as I got in, moving towards the stairs. "Ryotaro-san is outside with his nephew, just in case you wanted to say hi. Oh, and I'm going to be giving Narukami-san – Ryotaro-san's nephew – some of the carsickness medicine, if that's all right?"

"That's fine, Yasu," said okaa-san. She got up from the sofa and moved to the front door. "What's he like? Is he a nice kid?"

"From what I can tell, yes," I said. Okaa-san nodded and then moved out the door.

I walked up the stairs and crossed the landing to the bathroom. I opened the medicine cabinet and rooted around for the pills I was looking for. I found them without trouble and left the bathroom to go back downstairs.

It was at this point that my little brother decided to exit his bedroom and mingle with us mortals. He was slightly pale Caucasian, with bright rose-coloured hair and turquoise eyes that were the same shape as our okaa-san's. He, also like okaa-san, was a little tall for his age, and he had a narrow build. He took after our okaa-san quite a lot more than I did. He was wearing a red and black set of pyjamas with the crest of some football team or another embroidered on the front. We were Irish twins – born a year apart on the same date.

"Hey, Yasu," he greeted me with that large grin of his. He was holding an Xbox 360 controller. "You should check out this goal I scored on _Fifa 10_. It was fucking _awesome_!"

"In a little while," I said, grinning back, though mine was more forced – I couldn't stand those damn soccer games. I held up the pill bottle. "I've got to deliver some meds to our new neighbour first."

"Oh, Ryotaro-san's nephew is here?" he asked. He briefly disappeared back into his room, then came out in his slippers without the controller in his hands. "I'll come meet him."

The two of us went downstairs and exited the house. Next door, the others – now including my okaa-san – were idly chatting just outside. Nanako-chan looked both happy and uncomfortable as her eyes darted between Ryotaro-san and my okaa-san. I knew why that was. Narukami-san stood there with his blank face still as it had been from the moment I'd met him, though his eyes portrayed his interest. They were sort of darting back and forth between everyone, observing them with curiosity.

"Hey, Narukami-san," I said as my brother and I approached. "Here they are, as promised." I handed him the pills.

"Thanks," he said, accepting them. "And Yu is fine."

"So, you're Ryotaro-san's nephew, huh?" said my brother, eyeing Yu-san up and down. He smirked. "Nice to meet you. I'm Baiko. Kusuhara Baiko."

"Narukami Yu," said Yu-san. "Same."

"What's the city like?" asked Baiko eagerly. Like me, he had never been out of Inaba, but he had a much larger appreciation of the outside world than I did. "Is it much different to here?"

"… It's louder," said Yu-san after thinking for a moment.

Baiko's face fell a little, as if in disappointment. "Louder?" he asked. "Okay, okay … what about the atmosphere, does it feel any different?"

"You know, Baiko," I said, cutting off any response Yu-san might have had, "it's kind of ironic that you're so interested in the outside world. Don't you spend every waking hour tucked away in your room playing video games?"

"Oh, fuck you," said Baiko, but he was laughing.

I was quite surprised to see Yu-san smiling a little at our antics.

"In all seriousness, though," said Baiko, "what was it like out there?"

Yu-san thought about it. "Much more crowded," he said. "And a lot more drivers threatening to kill each other in the roads."

Baiko and I both got a bit of a laugh out of that, and Yu-san kept that small smile on his face. It was good to see definite proof that the guy had emotions; it would make making friends with him that much easier.

"Well, I've gotta head inside now, Ryo-kun," okaa-san told Ryotaro-san. She jerked her head in our direction. "Can't let Baiko waste away, he barely has any meat on his bones as it is."

"Hey!" Baiko complained, though he was still laughing.

"Can I assume you've already eaten, Yasu?" okaa-san asked me.

"Yep," I said.

She sighed, turning to Ryotaro-san with a roll of her eyes. "I swear, this kid thinks my cooking is going to kill him." She laughed. "See you later."

Then she and Ryotaro-san shared a soft kiss between them. I looked at Nanako-chan and mimed puking, something she giggled at.

My okaa-san and Ryotaro-san had been in a relationship for a few months now. They were both single parents, and they lived right next door to one another, so it worked out quite well. The only real hitch was Ryotaro-san's job – a detective for the local police force – which sometimes took him away from any plans the two of them may have had. Baiko had mixed feelings at first, but he was slowly warming up to the idea of our okaa-san in a relationship. Nanako-chan took it surprisingly well, and even seemed quite happy for her otou-san on occasion. I was never really all that bothered – my okaa-san has a life of her own, why should I be bothered by who she dates? The fact that I quite liked Ryotaro-san and Nanako-chan probably helped me come to that conclusion.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Yu-san," I said, then looked down. "And you, too, Nanako-chan. Try not to overdose on those things," I added to Yu-san. "Wouldn't want to lose you the day you moved in."

"I'm sure that would be awful," he said in a deadpan. I was fairly sure he was being sarcastic, but due to his tone I couldn't be sure.

"Bye, guys!" said Baiko loudly. Then he, my mother and I went back inside.

I decided to take a quick shower before sitting down to watch the news. I went upstairs and into the bathroom once again. I realised I had left the medicine cabinet open, so I rectified my mistake. I took the opportunity to look myself up and down in the mirror to try and determine how much washing I'd need to do.

I had faintly tanned Caucasian skin. My hair was short and black, and my eyes were the same shade of brown as my mother's and slightly wider than usual. I took mostly after my otou-sama, the bastard. I was wearing a plain red shirt and a pair of dark blue tracksuit bottoms. I stripped off the clothes and tossed them into the hamper. Then I turned on the shower and stepped under the scalding hot water, just the way I liked it.

After showering, I wrapped my lower half in a towel. Then I walked to my bedroom, where I picked out a new pair of socks and boxer shorts. I then sat down on my bed, half naked, and used the remote to turn the TV to the news. I briefly noted the sounds of heavy rain coming from outside.

"—for this week," the female news anchor said as the TV came on. "Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather. With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas."

The screen changed, accompanied by what they probably thought was a catchy tune, and a male news anchor appeared on screen.

"And now for the local news," he said. "City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter." An image of the man in question appeared on the side of the screen – he had short black hair and blue eyes. "His wife," an image of a beautiful woman in a kimono appeared on screen, "enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances."

The image of another woman, this one younger and with shoulder-length brown hair, appeared on screen.

"Until allegations of an affair with Mr Namatame are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye."

 _Hard to tell who's more guilty,_ I thought as I watched. _Him for cheating on his wife, or her for getting involved with a married man. Either way, it's hard to feel sorry for them._ Adultery disgusts me. Whatever came of this, in my eyes, they both had it coming to them.

… I found myself regretting that thought process the next day …

After that the news grew dull, so I flipped through the channels until I found one that was playing the movie _The Warriors_. I watched it and then went to sleep.

* * *

 _Tuesday, 12 April 2011_

I sat up in bed groggily as my alarm went off at 06:30a.m. the next morning. I groaned as I reached my hand over to silence it. Technically speaking, I didn't _have_ to get up this early, but my okaa-san had to work so I would be in charge of getting Baiko's breakfast ready. My okaa-san had left about half an hour ago, and the only reason I got up as early as I did was to get a cup of coffee in me before I had to wake my otouto up. I wasn't all that interested in the things he talked about at the best of times, in the morning he would just put me back to sleep.

I got out of bed and put my school uniform on. I opened the curtains of my bedroom to let in what little light there was at this early hour. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I exited my room and made my way quietly down the stairs. I got into the kitchen and put the kettle on, then, as it was boiling, I noticed a note my okaa-san had left on the counter.

 _Left some crumpets in the top left cupboard for your breakfasts. See you later. :)_

My okaa-san worked two jobs, both as a cleaner. She cleaned at the local pub in the morning – a job which she tended to despise after the more exciting drinking sessions – and the local elementary school in the afternoon. Nanako-chan sometimes passed messages on to my brother and I that okaa-san had given her on the way out of school. She worked hard and I greatly appreciated it. More than once I had considered getting a part-time job in order to help her with our finances, but there weren't any jobs at the moment that really appealed to me. I know I'm making myself sound fussy, but if I'm not doing something I enjoy, I tend to get snappy, and that's not good for anyone involved.

I got my coffee and turned on the toaster ready for when I would be making the breakfast.

It was at around this point that I noticed it was still raining from the night before.

Sure enough, at 07:00a.m. the sound of Baiko's alarm sounded loud enough for me to hear from downstairs. I took that as my cue and went back into the kitchen to toast the crumpets. I poured Baiko a cup of coffee, and I poured myself another one, too. A full fifteen minutes after his alarm went off, Baiko made his way downstairs to find that breakfast and coffee were already on the table.

"You know, you really should work on your early rising skills," I said. "Crumpets tend to cool down pretty quickly, and God knows I'd hate to saddle you with cold food."

"Screw you," he mumbled weakly. He picked up his coffee and took a long gulp, his face appearing to wake up a little as he drank. "Ah, that's good coffee," he sighed.

"I do my best," I said. I took a large bite out of one of my crumpets. I chewed, swallowed, then said, "We'll probably end up walking with Yu-san and Nanako-chan today." We always walked part of the way with Nanako-chan – her school was relatively close to ours – but I felt the need to warn Baiko that we might have an extra person today.

"I figured," said Baiko. He sounded a little more awake now. He glanced at the window. "This fucking weather, man … where the hell's the sun at?"

"Fuck if I know," I said. "All I know is that we're going to need umbrellas today. Now eat up, we're leaving in an hour."

There was surprisingly little chatter on Baiko's part that morning. Sometimes he was like that, he needed to do some waking up before he got in the mood to talk. We didn't share many interests, which meant that other than the morning and occasionally late at night we didn't really speak all that much. I found that rather sad – I didn't have anything to talk to my own brother about.

The news was just more about that secretary/announcer affair bullshit. That didn't interest me.

At 08:10a.m we left the house. Sure enough, Nanako-chan and Yu-san were just leaving the Dojima residence as we were leaving. They both had umbrellas, as did we.

"Hey, guys," I greeted as our two groups met up. "How are you on this fine morning? Does the weather not reflect the joyfulness of the day?"

Nanako-chan giggled. "Hi, Yasu-oniichan. Hi, Bai-oniichan," she greeted me and my brother warmly.

"Well, hello to you, too, little lady," said Baiko, leaning down to be level with Nanako-chan. She giggled once more at his antics. I'll say what I will about Baiko, but he had a way with children I'd probably never be able to replicate – I think he'd make a brilliant father one day.

"Hey, Yu-san," I said, "you ready for your first day in paradise?"

"Sure thing," said Yu-san.

"Sweet!" I said. "Then let's get our butts in gear, shall we? Wouldn't want you to be late on your first day." _Especially if you end up in our class,_ I added in my head, then shuddered at the thought of what King Moron would say if that happened.

We started walking, idly chatting to pass the time (except for Yu-san, who only spoke when directly addressed). We were laughing at each other's jokes, listening intently to each other's stories, and it was just a really good time for everybody. This went on until we entered the School Zone – the part of town where all the schools are situated – and came upon a fork in the path when we reached the Samegawa flood plain.

"You keep going straight from here," said Nanako-chan, pointing Yu-san down the direction of the path on the left. "I'm sure Bai-oniichan and Yasu-oniichan will show you the way." She turned down the direction of the other path. "My school's this way. Bye, guys!"

"Have a good day, Nanako-chan," Baiko called after her as she left.

Very little happened after she left. We kept up the chatter as much as we could, but with Yu-san's lack of contribution unless directly spoken to it wasn't easy. I was on the verge of giving up any attempts when we reached an intersection just before we reached the school.

We were walking down the street, me trying to come up with some topic of conversation, when a distressed yell came from behind us. We all turned just in time to see a bike speeding past us way faster than it should probably have been going, and veering from left to right as it went. I had the strange feeling I knew who the rider was but I didn't get a good look at him as he sped past and crashed into a lamppost a little way ahead of us.

By the time we got over there he was holding his abdomen in pain, and I saw that it was exactly who I thought it was. He had Caucasian skin and lightly coloured, unkempt brown hair that reached his shoulders, and eyes of the same colour. He was wearing the Yasogami High School boys' uniform, but beneath he was wearing a white V-neck with long sleeves, and a pair of orange headphones around his neck. His bike, despite having just crashed, looked like it was still rideable … not that I'd ever ride it to put that to the test.

"… Okay, then," said Baiko, then we started moving again.

"Bad luck, Yosuke-san," I said, patting Yosuke-san on the shoulder as we walked past.

"Sc-Screw you …" he said weakly.

It was only a few minutes later that we finally came upon the school building. It was large and imposing and I always thought it looked kind of old, especially with the massive gates. But I had a strange fondness for it that I couldn't quite explain, especially when my homeroom teacher made everyone's lives a misery.

"Welcome to your new school, Yu-san," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll show you where the faculty office is so they can take you to your class, okay?"

"Thanks," he said to me. Then he smiled a little. "I've been saying that a lot to you, haven't I?"

I laughed. "Yeah," I agreed. "But don't worry. You probably won't need my help as much when you've gotten used to the place."

"Okay, guys, you can get friendly later," said Baiko, checking his watch. "We've got five minutes till school starts."

I found myself rushing after he'd told me that. I didn't want to be late, not to the class I was in … King Moron would've _killed_ me …

* * *

The classroom was alive with the chattering of the other students. I was keeping to myself, as usual. From the way I acted one would think I was quite sociable and friendly, but in truth I wasn't exactly a social butterfly. There were people I spoke to on occasion – three of them (four if you counted Aika-san), and all in this classroom – and even then it wasn't often. I really only jumped into the conversation when something interesting was going on. None of them made much of an effort to get to know me, so I did much the same.

My seat was located just beside Yosuke Hanamura's – he was the guy from the bike crash earlier. He was one of the three people I spoke to.

In front of me sat Chie Satonaka, another of the people I spoke to. She was a little shorter than average, with Caucasian skin and light brown, bowl-shaped hair which the colour of her eyes matched. She wore a modified version of the Yasogami High School girls' uniform. Rather than the usual blazer, hers consisted of a bright green tracksuit jacket with yellow highlights and several decorative pins. Like all the other girls in the school, she wore a miniskirt, but with a pair of black shorts underneath.

In the seat directly in front of Chie-san sat her best friend – and one of the most popular girls in school – Yukiko Amagi, the third of the people I spoke to. She had Caucasian skin so pale it was like snow. Her eyes were a deep, dark black, as was her long, straight hair, which she kept neat with a red hairband. She, like Chie-san, wore her uniform differently to how it was supposed to be worn. It consisted of a red, button-up sweater with a yellow ribbon; also included was a black opaque pantyhose. She was considered to be the most beautiful girl in school, and pretty much every male student in the place had asked her out at least once – including me.

I didn't ask her out because of any romantic interest, though. I found that I took very little interest in the idea of a teenage romance or the idea of "getting laid." I knew that it was normal for a teenage boy such as myself to want these things, and I'm pretty damn sure I'm not asexual, yet I had never been all that motivated to get myself a girlfriend or anything of the sort. When I asked Yukiko-san to go out with me, it was more for the sake of friendship than anything – I realised a while back that my social life was severely lacking, so in order to fix that, I attempted to spend time with one of the most genuinely nice people I could think of. Yukiko-san was a very nice, polite girl, so I thought I would try to make friends with her.

She turned me down. Probably thought I was another one of those "Amagi Challengers" or something. I didn't begrudge her that, though, there were some really sick perverts at this school.

"Hey, you guys," said one of those gossiping girls near the windows. She was talking rather loudly to a gathered group of students. "I heard there's going to be a transfer student from the city in this class."

"Huh? Really?" one of the guys in the group asked. "A guy or a girl?"

 _Unless Yu-san was hiding a pair of tits under that turtle-neck of his, I'm pretty sure it's a guy,_ I thought to myself in vague amusement.

"A transfer student from the city …" said Chie-san. She took a glance back at Yosuke. "Just like you, huh, Yosuke-san?" She saw how he was slumped over his desk. "… Huh? You look dead today."

"Yeah, um …" said Yosuke-san, groaning. "I don't wanna talk about it …"

"He had an unfortunate biking accident," I said. I could feel the smirk growing on my face without even meaning it to. "Very painful, but also _very_ fun to watch."

"Screw you, Yasuhide-san …" groaned Yosuke-san.

"You couldn't afford it," I shot back.

Before any more conversation could take place, the door of the classroom opened and everyone went silent. In walked our sensei – a man with a really shitty haircut and teeth that could probably be removed and sold as novelty bottle openers – who was accompanied by Yu-san.

"Awright, shut your traps!" yelled Morooka-sensei, aka, King Moron, as he reached the podium at the front of the class. "I'm Morooka Kinshiro, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow!

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick."

"… You calling me a loser?" Yu-san asked him. There was a slight hint of aggressiveness added on to that usually stoic demeanour of his. Pretty much the entire class went wide-eyed when it happened, but I simply appreciated the fact that someone had finally talked back to King Moron.

"That's it," said King Moron, "you're on my shit list, effective immediately."

 _Not a big shock there._ Everyone's _on your shit list._

"Now listen up!" King Moron yelled at Yu-san. "This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You better not even _think_ of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them! But what do I know … it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places …"

He just went on and on from there. As big an asshole was Morooka-sensei was, I actually found the rants he went on vastly entertaining. Mostly because, in the end, it was basically one big "Back in my day …" old man speech.

At some point during King Moron's rant, Chie-san put her hand up. "Excuse me!" she said. "Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?"

"Huh?" said Morooka-sensei. He seemed surprised that somebody had cut off his rant. "Yeah, sure." He turned to Yu-san with a glare. "Ya hear that? Your seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!"

Yu-san didn't really react all that much to the shouting. He simply made his way over to the empty seat just beside Chie-san – and just in front of Yosuke-san – and sat down. Immediately, Chie-san leaned over and began speaking.

"He's the worst, huh?" she whispered. "Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class … Well, we just have to hang in there for a year."

"Hey, Yu-san, how's it going?" I whispered, leaning forward. Yu-san looked back at me. "Welcome to hell, man, it's good to have you here."

"Wait, you know him, Yasuhide-san?" Chie-san asked me.

"He moved in next door to me yesterday," I explained.

Apparently, the other students in class had been gossiping quietly, as well. Morooka-sensei's glare faced all of us, growing in hatred with every passing second.

"Shut your traps!" he shouted at us. "I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!"

As Morooka-sensei was taking roll, I couldn't help but reflect on what an odd coincidence it was that, not only had Yu-san moved in next door to me, but he'd also ended up in the same class. Not that it mattered. Knowing me, we'd only end up talking to each other whilst in school, anyway, and maybe on the walk to and from the place if we left at the same time. As I've said, I'm not exactly a social butterfly, and I very rarely spoke to people from school when we weren't _in_ school (with the exception of Aika-san, who I spoke to when I ate at her family's restaurant).

Though, yet again, Yu-san's air of friendliness compelled me to make friends with him. I didn't know what it was about him that made me want to be his friend, and I didn't really care. All I knew was that he was a guy I felt like spending time with.

We spent the rest of the day being lectured by King Moron on subjects I suspect have nothing to do with the school curriculum.

* * *

The bell went, and I felt relief wash through me. As entertaining as I found King Moron's rants, the first day back was always a bitch simply because we had to listen to them _all damn day_! I also wanted to be getting home before the weather took another nose dive. It was clearing up now, but the fog that had rolled in about halfway through the day was so thick I couldn't see two feet out of the classroom window. It was insane, it was like something out of _Silent Hill_ or _The Mist_.

"That's all for today," said Morooka-sensei. He sounded just as relieved to be rid of us as we were to be rid of him. "Normal lectures will start tomorrow."

As everyone got up and prepared to leave – myself included – our joy at being free was interrupted when the school intercom system sprang to life.

"Attention, all teachers," said the woman over the intercom. "Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and not leave the school until further notice."

The intercom system died without saying any more.

Morooka-sensei groaned, though it was full of both surprise and annoyance. "You heard the announcement," he said to us. "Don't go _anywhere_ until you hear otherwise." Then he walked out of the classroom.

This was strange … this was _really_ fucking strange. They had never kept the entire school behind before, and the way that they had called all of the teachers for a meeting implied that this was something serious, but for some reason they wanted to avoid telling us. Now what could it be …? I had no idea. But I didn't like it, no sir, not one bit. I felt a wave of paranoia wash over me that I didn't want. I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something _wrong_ happening here.

As if to emphasise my thoughts, the unmistakable sound of sirens began to resound from outside. My head snapped up and, through the still-thick fog, I could just barely see the flashing red and blue lights of police cars.

 _What in the hell is going on …?_ I thought.

"H-Hey, Yukiko-san … mind if I ask you something?" said a male student who was standing near Yukiko-san's desk. I had been so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed him. "Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"

 _Announcer?_ I thought, curious. _He doesn't mean that Mayumi Yamano, does he?_

"I can't discuss such things," said Yukiko-san, frowning.

 _That'll be a big "yes," then._

"Y-Yeah, I guess not," the other student conceded, rubbing his neck sheepishly. He then walked off to rejoin the group gathered by the window.

I let my mind wander again, and I found my eyes landing on Yu-san, sat just in front of me and to the left. I stood up and walked around Yosuke-san's desk, coming to a stop just by the side of Yu-san's.

"An awful lot of excitement for the first day of school, isn't it?" I asked rhetorically. I glanced out the window at the slowly clearing fog. "What do you think's going on? They're making an awful lot of fuss for it to just be something small."

"I don't know," said Yu-san. "But I'm curious."

"Yeah …" I found myself shivering as I felt my gaze return to the fog outside. "Just the right weather for a mystery, huh? It's giving me the God damned chills …"

"You should wrap up warmer." He had that small smile on his face again.

The display of humour caught me off guard slightly, but it also eased my mind a little. I found that the chilly feeling had gone away. I chuckled as I realised Yu-san had eased my mind in one short sentence. _This guy's something else._

It was then that the intercom system blared to life once more.

"Attention, all students," said the woman over the intercom. "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police Officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat …"

The classroom was so abuzz with noise after that that I couldn't hear the repeat. _Do not disturb the police officers._ That one sentence was enough to tell me that something big was going down. Whatever it was, it was something serious and they didn't want anybody getting in the way. I felt my stomach churn as a feeling of foreboding rose in my chest. I took a deep breath and turned back to Yu-san.

"Come on," I said. "We should probably get going."

He rose from his seat and we were just about to leave when Chie-san and Yukiko-san approached us.

"Hey, are you two going home together?" Chie-san asked, looking between the two of us. "Mind if we tag along? Oh," she said, turning her full attention to Yu-san, "nearly forgot! I'm Satonaka Chie. You know I sit next to you, right?"

"Of course," said Yu-san. I thought it was a pretty obvious question.

"Well, nice to meet you!" Chie-san said enthusiastically. "This is Yukiko Amagi." She gestured to Yukiko-san, who was standing just behind her, a little timidly.

"Oh, nice to meet you …" said Yukiko-san with a small smile. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden …"

"C'mon, don't apologise like that," Chie-san said to her. "It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."

The three of us made to leave the classroom, but Yosuke-san walked into our path. _Good God,_ I thought, slightly exasperated. _He's a new kid in town, not a fucking parade! Where are all these people coming from?_

"Ah, um … Satonaka-sama …?" he said, clearly addressing Chie-san, as he pulled what looked like a DVD case out of his pocket. He sounded nervous, a fact that was only reinforced by the formal way he referred to her. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see …" He bowed his head and held the DVD out in front of him. "And … I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until I get my next paycheck!" Chie-san took the DVD from his hands and Yosuke-san looked relieved. "See ya! Thanks!" He made a run for the classroom door.

"Stop right there!" Chie-san yelled, giving chase. "What did you do to my DVD!?"

And before he could escape, Yosuke-san was treated to a kick right to the manly parts courtesy of Chie Satonaka. Both Yu-san and I flinched for him as he went down, grasping his crotch and writhing in pain. He rolled around on the floor in rather pathetic fashion, and I felt my sympathy for him grow. My balls felt a little uncomfortable as I witnessed the spectacle, too, and I found myself unconsciously bringing my thighs together as a means of protection.

Chie-san, apparently satisfied that Yosuke-san wouldn't be running anywhere, opened up the DVD case and visibly recoiled at what she saw inside. I saw it, too, and I can safely say that Yosuke-san at least partially deserved the pain he was suffering.

"What the—!?" Chie-san said as she looked at the broken remnants of her DVD. "I can't believe this! It's completely cracked … My _Trial of the Dragon_ …!"

"How does one even do that much damage to a DVD?" I asked, looking in wonder at the large amount of cracks on the disk. "Either that was intentional, or there were _multiple_ accidents instead of just one."

"I think mine's cracked, too …" Yosuke-san said weakly as he cradled his damaged crotch. "C-Critical hit to the nads …"

"A-are you all right?" Yukiko-san asked.

Yosuke-san, despite his pain, gained an expression of hope. "Oh, Yukiko-san … are you worried about me …?" Even in spite of his pain, he still jumped at the chance to try and get with Yukiko-san …

"He's fine, Yukiko," said Chie-san coldly. "Let's ditch him and go home."

Chie-san walked swiftly out of the room, followed closely by Yukiko-san. Yu-san lingered for a moment, staring at Yosuke-san, before following those two.

I moved to walk past Yosuke-san but stopped before I got to the door. "You might wanna put some ice on that," I advised him. "And you have my greatest sympathies. May your balls rest in peace."

Then I left and followed the others.

We didn't say much of anything as we left school. It was mostly just casual conversation about the school day and which of King Moron's rants we found the most hilarious. It was an enjoyable conversation, all things considered, and I once again found myself wondering why I could never bring myself to hang out with people outside of school. I wanted to, I _really_ wanted to, but something in my mind would just never let me. It was like some kind of barrier that wouldn't let me get close to people.

Our enjoyable conversation came to an abrupt end as we got to the school gate. Out from behind it stepped a male student I had never seen before – it was no wonder, really, since he was wearing a completely different uniform to us. He was a pale Caucasian, and I mean _really_ pale, almost like a vampire. His hair was black and parted down the middle, and his eyes were black and a little too round, almost reminding me of a fish. He was looking at Yukiko-san.

"You're Yuki-chan, right?" he said to her. "Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?"

 _Okay,_ I thought as alarm bells rang in my head, _at least the guys from our school made an attempt at conversation before hitting on her, this guy's just fucking creepy._ I had never seen him before, and, judging by the confused and slightly frightened look on Yukiko-san's face, she hadn't, either. That allowed me to automatically label him as a creep, and I prepared myself to step in if things got out of hand. Friend or not, if anyone thinks they can be creepy with a girl when I'm around, they've got another thing coming.

"What …?" Yukiko-san asked. "Wh-Who are you?"

A few students gathered behind us, apparently to watch what was happening. I ignored them.

"Um, s-so … are you coming or not?" He sounded almost awkward when he said that. It gave me the impression that he was the shut-in type and wasn't really used to talking to girls.

"I-I'm not going …" Yukiko-san told him.

" _Fine_!" the creep snapped, then ran away.

"W-What did he want from me?" Yukiko-san asked after he had gone.

Chie-san looked exasperated. " 'What did he want'?" she said. "Obviously, he was asking you out on a date."

"Really?" Yukiko-san looked genuinely surprised.

"You know, I sincerely doubt dating is what's on his mind," I said. "Unless, of course, you define dating as that thing that leads little boys to pointing to the spot on the doll where the bad man touched him."

"… Okay, I see your point," Chie-san said. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, though. But it was so creepy, how he called you 'Yuki-chan' all of a sudden, Yukiko."

"Yo, Yukiko-san," said Yosuke-san as he rounded the corner with his incredibly squeaky bike. "Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? Man, you're cruel … You got me the same way last year."

"I don't recall doing that," said Yukiko-san.

"Whoa, you serious?" Yosuke-san's voice was suddenly very upbeat. "So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?"

"I'd rather not," said Yukiko-san.

"… That'll teach me to get my hopes up," Yosuke-san said in a pained voice.

"Hey, guys!" came a voice from behind us. It was Baiko. He looked at Yukiko-san. "Turned down another one, huh?" He looked at me. "Didn't she do the same thing to you once?"

"Not the same circumstances, but pretty much the same result, yeah," I said. Yukiko-san actually looked kind of annoyed by this point. "So how was your day, Baiko?"

"Pretty boring," he told me. "If I'd known the first day of high school was gonna be this dull I'd have pretended to be sick."

 _Or pretend you slept funny so you'd get the week off,_ I thought bitterly. That had happened once – Baiko had woken up one morning with an aching neck, and okaa-san had let him take the rest of the week off school. She was ridiculously lenient when it came to my brother – if I had tried something like that she would have kicked my ass out of the door naked if she had to.

Rather than saying any of this out loud, however, I simply feigned a laugh.

"You four better not pick on the transfer student too much," said Yosuke-san, eyeing Chie-san, Yukiko-san, Baiko and myself in distrust. He then swiftly got on his bike and started pedaling.

"We're just curious, is all!" Chie-san yelled after him.

"U-Um, I'm sorry for dragging all of you into this …" said Yukiko-san, looking at all of us.

"Hey, anything that can make this place more exciting," I said with a smile.

"What the hell happened over here, anyway?" asked Baiko. "I get that Amagi turned a guy down – I saw that much from a distance – but you all looked really freaked out by him. What's the deal?"

"He was the creepy stalker type," I told him. "We're talking Jim Carrey from _The Cable Guy_ , but less ridiculous."

"Oh," said Baiko, nodding in understanding.

"C'mon, let's go," said Chie-san. She looked around at all the people who had gathered. "Everyone's staring."

We left the school, with Baiko now in our group, and continued our previous discussion. Eventually, the conversation turned to why Yu-san had come to town, and he explained to Chie-san and Yukiko-san that he had been sent here by his parents to live with his uncle while they worked overseas. Hearing his tone of voice made me feel sorry for him … it sounded like this happened a lot.

"Ah … so you came here because of your parents' job," said Chie-san in understanding. She laughed awkwardly. "I thought it was something _way_ more serious. There really is nothing here, huh?" she added, looking around. On one side of the path we were walking on was a residential area, but on the other there was a large amount of near-empty farmland. "That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing we can show to people from outside. Though there is something from Mt. Yasogami … I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous." Her eyes lit up in realisation. "Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

"Huh?" said Yukiko-san, blushing a little. "It's … just an old inn."

"No way," argued Chie-san, "it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure."

"Yeah, okaa-san took us up there once," recalled Baiko. "I don't remember all that much, 'cause it was only the once, but I remember enjoying it."

"Oh yeah," I said, remembering with fondness the weekend we had spent at the inn as a sort of mini-vacation. "Let me tell you, those hot springs are the _best_. I could've stayed in there all day if there weren't allocated times for each gender."

"I hear ya, man," Chie-san said to me. "It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday. Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."

"… I don't think that's entirely true," said Yukiko-san. She was quite clearly embarrassed now.

And it was about to get even worse.

"So, tell me," Chie-san said to Yu-san, grinning. "You think Yukiko's cute, huh?"

That took even me by surprise. "Good God, you _encourage_ it …" I said, feigning horror. "It's no wonder guys don't leave her alone, if you keep asking them shit like this."

Baiko laughed, and Chie-san glared at us both. "Shut up," she said. She turned back to Yu-san. "Come on, you do, right?"

"I think so, yeah," Yu-san said without hesitating. There was a _very_ light hint of red on his cheeks.

Chie-san laughed loudly. "I knew it!"

"Come on … don't start this again …" Yukiko-san said, looking down at the floor.

"She's really popular at school," Chie-san continued without listening, "but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?"

"C-come on, stop it," Yukiko-san pleaded with her. Then she turned to Yu-san. "Y-you shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!" She froze and shook her head. "Wait, n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend. Jeez … Chie!"

Chie-san laughed again. "Sorry, I'm sorry. But this is our chance to talk to someone from the big city, and you hardly said a word!"

"Still kind of a dick move, though," said Baiko. He shook his head in disapproval. "Putting her on the spot like that … Seriously, I think Yasu has better friendship skills than you."

"Yeah, I—" I stopped mid-speech, then turned to Baiko with a glare. The shit-eating grin on his face only served to piss me off more. "The hell's _that_ supposed to mean, you little shitbag?"

"Figure it out," Baiko said. "Your brain _does_ have the ability to reason, right?"

"Hey, what's that?" Chie-san said, cutting off the witty retort I most definitely had prepared.

I looked to where she was pointing and saw a large gathering of people and … police cars? We walked over to that part of the residential area and found an entire road had been blocked off, police guards on duty and everything. The looks of fear, curiosity, and excitement on the faces of everybody in the crowd made me even more curious as to what was going on.

Luckily, eavesdropping on the conversations of the gathered people was more than enough to tell me what I wanted to know.

"So that high schooler left school early," said one woman, "and as she came down this street …"

"Wow," said another woman in wonder. "Who could imagine _that_ hanging from an antenna?"

"I wanted to see it, too."

"Uh, you got here too late … The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago."

"Well, _I_ think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body turned up around here …"

 _A dead body …_

Those three words were like the final pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. All of the minor details I had gotten since the announcement was first made at school now fit together perfectly. And it all made one _horrible_ image.

"Wait … what did she just say?" asked Chie-san. Apparently she had been listening to their conversation, too. "A dead body!?"

I was trying to look past the gathered crowd when a familiar face made itself known. Ryotaro-san saw me, too, and made his way past the police barricade and to our little group.

"Hey, what're you guys doing here?" he asked when he reached us.

"We're just passing by," said Yu-san.

"Huh … I should've figured that'd happen," said Ryotaro-san with a sigh. "That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here …" He seemed to be talking more to himself than to us.

"You know this guy …?" Chie-san said, looking between Yu-san and I.

"I'm Detective Dojima," said Ryotaro-san, "his guardian," he gestured to Yu-san, "and their next-door neighbour." He gestured to Baiko and I. "Well, how should I say this … I hope you get along with them. But you five really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home."

He seemed like he was about to walk away when the other detective ran past. He was a young guy – somewhere in his early twenties – with Caucasian skin and shaggy black hair. He wore a ragged black suit. He ran past us and began loudly puking behind some bushes.

"Adachi!" Ryotaro-san yelled in irritation. "How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be sent back to the central office!?"

"I-I'm sorry," mumbled Adachi. His face was still slightly green and there were remnants of puke on his suit. He coughed a little to clear his throat.

Ryotaro-san sighed. "Go wash you face," he ordered. "We're gonna go around and gather information!"

He walked away, and Adachi hurried after him. I felt a pang of pity for Adachi. It was clear that this was the first time he'd seen a corpse, and he clearly wasn't handling it well.

"Was this what that announcement was about …?" Chie-san said.

"No shit, Sherlock," I muttered. I couldn't bring myself to say it any louder. The situation was just too gruesome at the moment for sarcasm.

"What do they mean … it was hanging from the antenna …?" asked Yukiko-san.

"I think …" said Baiko in a shaky voice, "… that we'd all benefit from just going home. I don't see how staying out is going to help calm any of us down …"

"Good idea," said Yu-san.

"Yeah, it's a damn good idea," I said. I licked my lips, which had gone abnormally dry. "See you guys later."

After saying our goodbyes to Chie-san and Yukiko-san, Yu-san, Baiko and I walked home together, and I told Yu-san I would see him in class tomorrow as we entered our separate houses.

I ate with my family that night. I really wasn't in the mood to go out.

Not when there was quite possibly a killer on the loose.

* * *

 **This took my three days of work to get through, and it feels damn _good_ to get this out! I've noticed a trend where I start rushing slightly as I near the end of a chapter, but I think I've corrected all of my mistakes … if you find any, do me a favour and tell me, would you? It'd be a huge help.**

 **I've kind of surprise myself with this. When I started writing it, I had Baiko as more of a background character, just sort of there as a family member to Yasuhide. But as I wrote this out, not only did a personality for him form in my head, but an entire character arc for him to go through throughout the course of the story. Honestly, I've got so much planned for the future for pretty much _all_ of the characters, and I'm looking forward to writing it all!**

 **Leave me your thoughts, if you would be so kind, and I will see you all next time!**


	2. Wednesday, 13 April - Thursday, 14 April

**Greetings, Constant Readers, and welcome to chapter two of _Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?_ I am having a wonderful time with this so far, and hopefully, I will continue to enjoy it the whole time (I'd better – this is one of my favourite games we're talking about here). The plot's going to start picking up a little this chapter, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think about Yasuhide during all of this. I've got some pretty good reactions to him thus far, let's see if I can keep you interested.**

 _ **(Update: I've added in the honorifics, fixed a few grammar and spelling mistakes, and added a little more detail here and there.)**_

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Wednesday, 13 April - Thursday, 14 April 2011

I awoke on that morning with a sense of dread hanging over me. The events of the day before played back in my mind, over and over again. I had foregone watching the news last night because I was tired, but I was sure they must have identified the victim by now. It seemed crazy to me that somebody would go to that much effort to put a body in such a high place – they had probably used the thick fog as cover, I deduced, to avoid being seen. But what was the point? It just seemed so unnecessary.

Baiko and I were approaching the school with Yu-san. We had been walking in a sullen silence, each of us keeping our thoughts to ourselves. None of us said it out loud, but I think we were all thinking the same thing: This entire situation just felt … _wrong_ , somehow. People die every day, true enough, but something about this just felt unnatural …

 _It was probably the timing,_ I reasoned with myself. _That fog could've made_ anything _that happened yesterday look ominous. Do yourself a favour, Yasuhide, my man, and stop thinking about it, you'll give yourself a panic attack._

I took a series of calming breaths in an attempt to heed my own advice. It helped a little, but that feeling of sheer _wrongness_ never left me.

Not for the next few seconds, anyway.

A blur came zooming past us at around the same point as it had the day before, and then there was a loud _CRASH!_ just ahead of us. We walked forward, approaching the source of the noise, and found a bike that had fallen to the ground, and its rider … rolling around on the floor with his top half lodged in a trash can.

"S-Someone …" came the weak, desperate voice of Yosuke-san from within the trash can.

"You know, Yosuke-san," I said, "if anything needs to go in there, it's probably your bike. This crashing everyday thing really can't just be _you_ , can it?"

"J-Just shut up and help me if you're gonna!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"Maybe we should help him," said Yu-san.

"You guys can deal with this, I don't want to be late," said Baiko with a sigh. "I'll see you guys after school." He carried on walking without us.

I sighed. He had always been like that. He could be fun to hang out with, sure, but when it came to the problems of people he didn't really hang out with, he made no attempts to even _fake_ concern. I always thought it was because he had even less of a functioning social life than I did. He had friends, yes, but they were the _bad influence_ kind. The kind that seems to make it their mission in life to be as loud and obnoxious as possible, the kind that would take up an entire hallway in school with their conversation and shove anyone who got in their way against the wall. Not bullies, per se, just douchebags.

"All right, let's get to it," I said.

Yu-san and I walked over to Yosuke-san's struggling form. I wrapped my arms around the trash can to stop it from rolling around while Yosuke-san was inside of it, while Yu-san grabbed Yosuke-san by his midsection and pulled. It took a few moments, but eventually, we got Yosuke-san out of there. He dusted himself off, picked up his bike, and then sat on it.

"Whew, you saved me," he said. "Thanks, guys! Um …" He looked at Yu-san for a few moments, thinking. "Oh yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student, Yu Narukami. I'm Hanamura Yosuke. Nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you, too," said Yu-san.

Yosuke-san laughed a little awkwardly. Then his face lit up. "Say, did you guys hear about that incident from yesterday?" he asked us. "They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!"

"Announcer lady?" I asked, my eyes widening. Only one person came to mind. "You don't mean that was Mayumi fucking Yamano, do you!? Jesus Christ …"

"You didn't know?" asked Yu-san.

"I skipped out on watching the news yesterday," I said. "I was pretty tired."

"You guys think it was some kinda warning?" said Yosuke-san. "There's no way something that weird could've been an accident?"

"People are saying it was an _accident_?" I asked, my brows furrowed. "Good God, these people are stupid …"

"You might be right," said Yu-san.

"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that … that's just messed up," said Yosuke-san, then he added, "Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place." He looked down at his watch and his eyes widened. "Oh crap, we're late! Does either of you wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine. It'll only hold me and one other person, though …"

"Yu-san can take it," I said. "I'll just run and hope for the best. See you guys there!"

And that's how I ended up running the final stretch to school on only the second day back. Pretty soon after I started running, Yosuke-san's bike sped past me. In the end, I was two minutes late for class.

King Moron was _not_ impressed.

* * *

The final bell came as a relief once again. It had been a much more normal day today, but Morooka-sensei had still managed to make it a living hell for most of us – I didn't even get to eat lunch thanks to my entrance into the classroom two minutes late. He had bitched about imparting wisdom to us and going hard on anyone who was curious about the murder and was basically being as unpleasant a person as possible. As amusing as his rants sometimes got, I really fucking hated this guy.

I sighed and was about to stand up when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Yosuke-san. I turned to look at him but he was now tapping on Yu-san's shoulder. I raised an inquisitive eyebrow. _What could he possibly want that involves both of us?_

"So, you getting used to this place?" Yosuke-san asked Yu-san. I had seen people do this before; he was trying to open up with a reasonable question so that whatever he had to say next didn't appear to come out of nowhere.

"Yeah," said Yu-san.

"Wow, that was fast," said Yosuke-san.

"What do you expect?" I asked, a grin growing on my face. "He has my quite frankly amazing self as a neighbour. Is it any wonder that my charms have already converted him to our small town culture?"

"Yeah, you're _real_ charming," Yosuke-san said with a roll of the eyes. He was grinning, though. He turned back to Yu-san, and I became a little irritated – what did this have to do with me, again? "There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain … _something_ you can't get anywhere else. The air's clean, the food's great … oh, you know about the local delicacy?"

"There are a fair few," I said. "The tofu, the ramen, the takoyaki … pretty much _everything_ that's sold down in the shopping district is pretty tasty."

"I was actually talking about the grilled steak," said Yosuke-san, though he didn't disagree with me.

"Oh, that's pretty damn delicious, too," I said. I subconsciously licked my lips and my stomach rumbled. _Damn, why did King Moron have to go and make me miss lunch …?_

"You know that place downtown where they sell it cheap?" he asked me; I nodded. He looked at Yu-san and me. "You guys wanna come with me? You two helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

I found myself mildly surprised by that. Never, in all my years living in Inaba, had anyone ever invited me to get food with them. Well … there was _one_ person, but they moved out of town quite some time ago, and I hadn't really been all that sociable for a few years. That's not to say I was all that sociable, to begin with; I could honestly say that I was only friends with that one person. The same was true on their part, actually …

"What about me, huh?" asked Chie-san, walking over from her seat where she had blatantly been listening in. "No apologies? My _Trial of the Dragon_?"

Yosuke-san sighed. "You always come around when I'm talking about food …"

"People normally do," I commented offhandedly. If there was one thing I knew about other people, it's that feeding them was the quickest way to getting on their good side.

"How about it, Yukiko?" said Chie-san, looking over at Yukiko-san. "Don't you think he should treat _us_ , too?"

"I'll pass," said Yukiko-san, standing from her seat. "I don't want to gain any more weight."

"You're kidding me, right?" I said. This girl was about the skinniest girl I'd ever laid eyes on! I cursed inwardly at my inability to keep my thoughts in my head. Luckily, however, she either ignored me or chose not to notice.

"I need to help out at the inn today, anyway," said Yukiko-san.

"Wow, Yukiko-san!" said Yosuke-san in wonder. "You started training to take over the business?"

"It's not like that!" she denied. "I'm just helping out when it gets busy."

 _And with recent events, it's probably plenty busy right now,_ I thought, but this time I managed to keep it to myself. The fact that Mayumi Yamano was allegedly staying at the Amagi Inn and she was found dead the day before probably had the place in an uproar. One that they were trying to keep on the down low, anyway.

"Well, I should be on my way," said Yukiko-san, then she left.

"Oh well," said Chie-san. "We should get going, too."

Yosuke-san visibly flinched. "Huh?" he said. "Do I seriously have to treat _three_ people …?"

"I'll happily pay for my own," I said. I was starting to feel a great amount of sympathy for Yosuke-san – I couldn't even imagine having such a large dent put in my wallet. "You can just give me a few Junes sales coupons, or something if you're so dead-set on repaying me."

I couldn't help but think to myself: _If you were more careful with other people's DVDs, Yosuke-san, maybe your wallet would be a little less hungry tonight._ The thought made me laugh to myself.

The three of us left school together.

* * *

" _This_ is the cheap place you were talking about …?" asked Chie-san sceptically and a little irritably. "They don't have grilled steak here."

We were in the Junes Food Court. It was a pleasant enough atmosphere, with round tables that had a fair amount of space between them, and it was open to the sun so the lighting was nice. It had a very _social_ feel to it, and I didn't know how to feel about that. This was the first time in years I'd eaten with anyone other than my family (and even then, I didn't do that often). The food was pleasant, but it was mostly fast food, so it was eaten at a rapid pace but it didn't fill you up enough to really call it a "meal." It was more like a McDonald's than anything else, to tell you the truth.

"Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans," said Yosuke-san, who had just brought us a tray with four sodas on it.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place," Chie-san argued.

Yosuke-san looked uncomfortable. "Dude, this isn't _my_ place or anything."

"I call bullshit," I said, raising a hand lazily in the air. "Your dad owns the joint. You can probably stroll through here, and everyone will bend over backwards for you for fear of getting fired, am I right?" He looked genuinely upset and offended by that, so I raised my hands in the air. "Sorry, man, that was uncalled for. I know you're not like that. I was trying to crack a joke, and I guess I went too far."

It was true, too; I felt genuinely bad for the comment.

"It's fine …" Yosuke-san said with a sigh. He looked at Yu-san, who looked relatively confused by our conversation. "Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh? I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So our entire family came out here." He picked up one of the sodas. "Here, this is to welcome you to town."

Yu-san leant over and took his soda with a nod of thanks.

"Satonaka, Yasuhide-san, yours are on me, too," Yosuke-san saw fit to remind us.

"Yeah, I know," said Chie-san.

"I'd have been perfectly fine paying for myself," I said. I didn't want to sound ungrateful, but being part of the reason Yosuke-san's wallet was about to burn dry made me feel kind of bad. "But thanks all the same."

We raised our sodas to each other and took a drink. The fizzy, sugary beverage pouring down my throat had a strange calming effect on me, and I sighed in satisfaction as I stopped drinking and sat back in my chair.

Our conversation became animated over small talk after that. It felt strange to hang out with people outside of school, strange and rather pleasant. I once again found myself wondering why I had never done this before. While I didn't interact with anybody from school enough to call them my friends, I got on relatively well with most of them in those moments both before and after school when I had short conversations with them, so it wouldn't be out of the question to spend some time with them outside school every now and then. But something in the back of my head kept telling me it was a bad idea … Hell, the one person I interacted with outside of school was Aika-san, and that was only really because I like the food at her family's restaurant.

"It's only been half a year since this place opened up," said Chie-san, "but I haven't been to the local shopping district much since."

The second those words exited her mouth, I knew I was probably going to have to hold my tongue a lot during this conversation. I had already offended Yosuke-san once this afternoon; I didn't really want to do it a second time.

"A lot of stores there started closing," Chie-san continued, "and … oh, uh …"

I think she had just realised what I had realised: It would probably be a really shitty move to talk about this in front of Yosuke-san.

"… You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?" asked Yosuke-san. He sighed loudly, and we all descended into silence.

The friendly atmosphere had died and with it my good mood. On Yosuke-san's face, I saw the beginnings of a scowl, though he had a sad look in his eyes. I suddenly thought I could guess how he felt, being the son of a man whose store was slowly running the locals out of business. It must have been a really bad feeling, and I found myself wondering if Yosuke-san felt that way all the time. Most of the people in town hated Junes; by extension, most of them hated Yosuke-san, too, though not many would ever say so to his face. They at least had the decency to feel bad about the things they said behind his back … for the most part, anyway.

I grew slightly curious as I saw Yosuke-san's face light up a little as he looked over at something. I turned to look where he was looking and saw a girl of about our age, maybe a little older, in one of the Junes work uniforms sitting down at one of the many round tables. She looked exhausted. She had Caucasian skin and light brown hair; she was quite beautiful.

"Hey … it's Senpai!" said Yosuke-san. His voice had taken on a much happier tone, and I already thought I knew what was going on. "Sorry, be right back."

"Is she Yosuke-san's girlfriend?" Yu-san asked, saying basically what I was thinking, as Yosuke-san got up and walked over to the girl.

Chie-san laughed. "He wishes," she said. "That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part-time, though …"

"Well, that explains why I don't recognise her," I said. I noticed Chie-san giving me an inquisitive look, and Yu-san giving me an attentive one, so I elaborated. "I don't normally eat here, and do you really think _I_ spend any time near a liquor store? Even if I was old enough, I can't stand alcohol, so that's why I don't recognise her."

"Ah," Chie-san said, nodding. "Why can't you stand alcohol? It's not like we have many excessive drinkers in town."

I scoffed. "Have you seen what that shit does to you? It seems all fun at first, sure, with all the crap coming out of your mouth that you wouldn't normally say, and the funny way you say them. But then comes the rowdy behaviour, the loudness, the blatant disregard for yours and other people's safety. Combine that with the raging hangover that's likely to come along the next morning, and alcohol has precisely no positive implications outside of pouring it onto a wound to stop the bleeding."

"He does have a point," said Yu-san.

"… Yeah, I guess I can see why you don't like it," said Chie-san. "It'd probably be best not to mention that if she comes over, though, with all the stores in the shopping district closing down and all that."

I silently nodded in agreement. I had already offended Yosuke-san by implying that his father's business was the cause of all the stores in the shopping district going out of business; I didn't want to offend Konishi-senpai by insulting her family's business. That would make me feel like an even worse person.

It was fortunate that I thought about it when I did, because barely a moment later Saki Konishi was stood by our table and looking at Yu-san.

"Are you the transfer student?" she asked him. "Oh, did you hear about me already?"

 _Did she hear us speaking …?_ I wondered with a shudder. _I damn well hope not, otherwise, this conversation might get a little awkward …_

"It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh?" continued Konishi-senpai. "I don't see Yosuke-kun hanging with the other guys much."

"Uh— Not necessarily …" Yosuke-san said.

"Yeah, I hang out with other people even less than he does," I said.

"He doesn't have many friends, so I hope you two get along good." Konishi-senpai appeared to have completely ignored both of us. "Yosuke-kun's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

"That's not true," Yu-san said in Yosuke-san's defence.

Konishi-senpai laughed. "I'm just kidding," she said.

Yosuke-san laughed, too. "You had me going there, Senpai," he said.

"Well, my break's just about over," said Konishi-senpai. "Back to work I go … Laters!" She got up to leave.

"Oh, uh, Senpai—" Yosuke-san tried to get her attention, but she had already left. He sat back down and laughed again, though not as upbeat as he had before. "Senpai says _I'm_ annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way …"

"Oh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh?" asked Chie-san. Her tone suggested she was teasing him. "I get it … so that's how it is … The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain … the flame of forbidden love!" She laughed.

"Wha—!? Dude, it's not like that!" Yosuke-san fervently denied.

"Bullshit," I said, grinning like a madman. Just because I wasn't personally interested in the whole romance thing, it didn't mean I was blind to opportunities to tease others about it. "I saw your face light up when she walked in the room, you sly dog. You into the whole teenage love story deal?"

"N-No, I'm not!" Yosuke-san said, shaking his head rapidly. "I … I'm just being friendly! That's all, I swear!"

"Oh _reaaaally_ …?" Chie-san asked sceptically. "Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart. You ever hear of the Midnight Channel? You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen … And they say that person's your soul mate."

I blinked, and looked at Yosuke-san. "Good news, Yosuke-san," I said. "You're no longer the most full of shit out of all of us. That prize goes to TV-Magic-Girl over here."

"Yeah, for a second I thought she was actually going to say something _useful_ ," Yosuke-san said in agreement. He looked at Chie-san. "How can you get all excited over a childish urban legend like that?"

"Childish, huh?" asked Chie-san. "Full of shit, am I? You guys don't believe it, do you!?"

"Of course I don't!" said Yosuke-san.

"As if our responses didn't make that abundantly clear," I said sarcastically.

"Well, it's raining _tonight_!" Chie-san informed us, a challenging glare in her eyes. "Let's all try it out – then you'll see!"

"Try it out …? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself!?" Yosuke-san sounded both sceptical and exasperated. "Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid …"

"That'll be that time when that one old guy went around the shopping district claiming a fox wearing a scarf returned his dropped wallet," I said. "Crazy old bastard was probably off his meds."

"All that aside … you know that 'incident' yesterday?" Yosuke-san asked us. "You guys think it was murder?"

"I doubt Yamano was up there to sightsee," I said dryly.

"She might've been," Yu-san said with a shrug. I once again found myself smirking at his sense of humour.

"Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around …?" Yosuke-san giggled like an insane schoolgirl.

"Sheesh, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that," Chie-san scolded him.

"Why not?" I asked. "Whoever it is, they're probably getting their rocks off on all the commotion it's causing. I like to think that if we joke about it, act like it's not that big a deal, we're insulting them in some way."

"All I'm saying is, you guys had better try it out tonight," Chie-san said, glaring at each of us.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, giving a mock two-fingered salute. I had no intention of going through with it, but I thought I might as well humour her while we're eating together. Yosuke-san was right; the entire thing was just childish bullshit, and anyone who believed it either had their head in the clouds or was suffering from some sort of mental deficiency.

We finished our food and left shortly afterwards.

* * *

I got home after eating and immediately showered and headed for my bedroom. I flipped my TV to the local news channel out of curiosity, to see if there had been any updates on the obvious murder that had happened the day before. Apparently, I lucked out, because the thing I was looking for came on almost immediately.

"Next, more details in the developing story on the incident in foggy Inaba," the male news anchor said. "Announcer Mayumi Yamano's dead body was found hanging above a house in this isolated rural town. It is confirmed that Ms Yamano had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi. The police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them."

That made sense. People could say what they wanted about the police, at least they hadn't ignored a glaringly obvious potential motive for the killing. I watched a lot of crime shows in my spare time, and a lot of the time a love affair of some form or another was involved when a murder occurred. I did find it strange, though, that someone would commit the murder so soon after the news of the affair exploded. It's a hell of a way to draw attention to yourself, committing a murder when the reason for doing so is _still_ in the news. I doubted anyone could be quite that stupid, but you never know in this day and age.

"In addition," continued the news anchor, "we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms Yamano's body."

 _Shouldn't the police be keeping shit like that under wraps?_ I asked myself. It seemed to me that the identity of a potential witness wasn't something the police would be willing to just let slip through the cracks.

"What went through your mind when you saw it?" an enthusiastic-sounding male reporter asked. "Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?"

"U-umm …" said the distorted voice of a girl. They had blurred her face out, but she was clearly wearing our school uniform, so it was definitely someone from Yasogami High School. And there was certainly something familiar about her …

"Don't you think it's _scary_ that someone was killed on a _foggy_ day?" probed the overzealous reporter. I suddenly wished I could reach into the screen and punch him in the face. But of course, that would be ridiculous.

"Huh …? She was _killed_?" said the female student.

"Oh, er …" The reporter suddenly sounded very uncomfortable. "So, did you see anyone suspicious around here?"

"No, not really …" said the female student.

"We heard that you found it when you left school early. Did you have some _personal business_ to take care of?"

"Huh? That's …"

Looking carefully at the screen, the many things buzzing around in my mind all clicked into place, and I suddenly felt like an idiot for not having recognised the girl earlier. It was quite clearly Saki Konishi-senpai. The way they had censored her was pathetic, and I suddenly felt ashamed of myself for being so stupid as to not notice it earlier.

 _So, Konishi-senpai found the body …_ That would explain why she seemed so sad and tired earlier on. It was no wonder she didn't seem to feel too up to conversation …

"—a tragedy that occurred near the local shopping district," said the news anchor, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Many store owners are raising concerns about losing customers as a result …"

 _Junes have already taken care of that, my news-reading friend,_ I thought, then mentally berated myself. That really wasn't fair, they were only running a business.

"It really is a bizarre case, isn't it?" said the male commentator who was sat by the news anchor. "I mean, hanging someone upside down from an antenna … I'd have to say it's a warning or a sign from the culprit."

"Yes," the anchor agreed, "but so far, no one has come forward to take credit for the crime."

"So the cause of death is _still_ unknown?" asked the commentator. "And they don't have a _single_ suspect yet? Taxpayers' funds are going to a police who can't even figure out if this is an accident or a homicide?"

 _He does bring up a good point,_ I thought begrudgingly. I wasn't a big fan of these speculative news types, but he _was_ right about the police in this case. The damn thing had _murder_ written all over it.

"We'll be right back after these messages," said the anchor, and it cut to commercials.

I turned off the TV before that abysmally annoying Junes advert could play. I didn't hate the store, but that damn jingle they use at the end of the advert drives me _insane_. It was overly irritating, and it wasn't even that good a motto!

I turned on the lamp I kept on the desk by my bed and relaxed into reading _The Silence of the Lambs_. But, try as I might, I simply couldn't pay all of my attention to the book. I seemed overly aware of everything: The gentle _pitter-patter_ of the rain hitting my window; the _tick-tock_ coming from the clock on my wall; the lack of noise coming from my turned-off TV …

 _I must be out of my mind …_ I thought, exasperated with myself. Had I really let Chie-san pull me into this? I wasn't even interested in all that romance stuff, so what exactly was I expecting to see?

The face of someone I once knew flashed through my mind but I ignored it in favour of convincing myself that this was absolutely crazy. _It's_ bullshit _, all of it! You're sixteen years old, Yasuhide, seventeen in a few months, are you_ really _buying into this superstitious bollocks?_

Apparently, I was.

I glanced up at my clock. It was one minute to midnight. I sighed and got up from my desk, walking over to the TV and sitting down in front of it. I kept telling myself that this was insane, that this couldn't _possibly_ be real …

Then midnight came.

I near enough exploded out of my skin when the screen came to life in a burst of static. The image was blurry, but I could make out our school uniform and a head of long brown hair. I was too freaked out to even try and discern any more than that, though. I leapt to my feet and went over to the plug socket where the TV was plugged in, and I yanked the plug out of its socket. I looked back at the TV screen, and …

… the image was still there.

"That's not fucking possible …" I muttered, staring at the TV with wide eyes. "There's just no way …"

Then the screen went off and the lamp on my desk was once again the only source of light in the room.

My breath was heavy and my mind was working in overdrive. What the _fuck_ had just happened? Was this Midnight Channel thing really for real, or was I just having some kind of hallucination? This entire thing was just so … _unreal_.

I swallowed nervously. It became abundantly clear to me that I wasn't going to be getting any more reading done that night. I switched off the lamp and crawled, half-naked, into my bed and rested my head on the pillow.

I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours before sleep finally took me.

The image of the Midnight Channel haunted my dreams.

* * *

 _Thursday, 14th of April, 2011_

"Are you okay?" Baiko asked me as we exited the house. "You look like you've just been flashed by a ghost."

I still felt shaken by what I'd seen the night before, and apparently, Baiko could see it. That was unusual in itself, I noticed, as he wasn't normally a good judge of when something was wrong with somebody. _Miracles really do happen._ I took a deep breath and said, "Just tired." It would have been true enough even without the strange phenomenon of the Midnight Channel plaguing my mind – it was Thursday, and toward the end of the week was the point where drowsiness took over the majority of student life.

We were carrying our umbrellas again, for the rain of last night was still gracing us with its presence. I wished it wouldn't; it only served to give me flashbacks to the unbelievable events of the night before.

Yu-san and Nanako-chan left their house at around the same time as we left ours. There were cheerful greetings, but all I could manage was a shaky nod. Yu-san seemed as level-headed as usual, though there was a slight air of discomfort to him that had not been there previously. Had he seen it, too? I hoped so because that would mean I wasn't going crazy.

We walked in relative silence. The gloomy weather combined with the events of two days ago, plus the unwillingness to talk that I had, made the atmosphere an inappropriate one for conversation. All I wanted to talk about was the Midnight Channel, but Baiko would endlessly mock me for believing in such "fairy tale bullshit" and would likely tell all of his "friends" about it so they could all laugh at my expense. Nanako-chan would probably be confused and think I was dreaming, so speaking of it with her around was out of the question. I had to speak with either Yu-san, Yosuke-san, or Chie-san.

The need to speak to someone wasn't something I felt often. I wasn't quite sure I liked it.

Eventually, we split off from Nanako-chan, and, as luck would have it, Baiko looked at Yu-san and I, shook his head, muttered something that sounded curiously like "This is fucking boring …" and walked on ahead of us. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Hey," I said to Yu-san in trepidation. I licked my lips, which had gone curiously dry. "Did you, er … did you watch it?"

"The Midnight Channel?" he asked.

"What the hell else am I talking about?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I watched it."

I swallowed nervously. "What did … what did you s—"

"Perfect timing!" Chie-san exclaimed as she sprinted up from behind us; there was no umbrella to be seen. "Sorry, move over!" She managed to squeeze under Yu-san's umbrella. She giggled awkwardly in embarrassment. "I did have my own, but I saw this kung fu movie where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves … and … I accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the movie."

"You know, Chie-san, _normal_ people use them to protect against the rain," I said. "You know most of the shit they do in those kung fu movies is pretty much impossible to pull off, right?"

I very quickly found myself limping somewhat after she kicked me in the shin.

"By the way … did you guys see it!?" she asked Yu-san and me in an excited whisper.

"I did," said Yu-san.

"Me, too," I said. "I kind of wish I didn't. That shit was freaky …"

"Aha, do tell," Chie-san said, grinning at the two of us. Then her expression devolved into one of confusion. "But the person it showed …" She brusquely shook her head as if to clear it. "Never mind. I'll save it for when we're all around. We're gonna be late for school."

We started walking quietly … then stopped again barely thirty seconds later.

Chie-san had an impressively red blush on her face. "Oh … u-uhh …" she said, hesitating. "I-it's kinda awkward only bringing this up now, but … we're pretty close here …"

I sighed. "Oh, for fuck sake …" I held out my umbrella, immediately feeling the rain wetting my body. "Just take mine, I don't mind getting a little wet if it means I'll actually get to _eat_ my damn lunch today."

"… You sure?" I nodded, and she took the umbrella. "Thanks a bunch, Yasuhide-san."

"Don't mention it," I said. "Let's just get the fuck into school before King Moron bursts a blood vessel waiting for us."

We made it to school on time, and as far as I'm concerned that was worth the water dripping off me for the first hour of school.

* * *

I rested my head on the desk even after the bell had signalled the end of the day. I was desperately trying to drown out the sound of the more gossipy students talking about the murder. The Midnight Channel had been on my mind all day, to the point where I actually got into a little trouble with Sofue-sensei, the history teacher, earlier on when I had zoned out in her class. She was one of the more lenient teachers, though, so I got out of it relatively free of trouble.

I was still anxious to discuss what I had seen. It was so surreal … I just couldn't get the blurry image on my unplugged TV out of my mind …

"Y-Yo, guys," said Yosuke-san, looking between Yu-san and me from his spot next to me. "Um … It's, uh, it's really not that important, but … well, yesterday on TV, I …" He put a hand to his head and wiped some sweat away. "Oh, uh … never mind. Look, I'll tell you two later." He laughed nervously.

 _Wow, that was_ really _informative,_ I thought in annoyance.

"Yosuke-san, did you hear the rumour?" asked Chie-san, approaching the three of us. "Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body."

"I wonder if that's why she looked so down …" said Yosuke-san thoughtfully. "She doesn't seem to be in school today, either."

Yu-san stood up from her seat and made to leave.

"Huh?" said Chie-san. "Hey, Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today, too?"

"Things are really out of hand right now …" said Yu-san, frowning "I'm sorry." She walked out of the room without another word.

"Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?" asked Yosuke-san.

"I guess they're running her ragged," said Chie-san. The concern was plain in her voice. She looked at Yosuke-san. "By the way, did you see … _it_ … last night?"

"Huh?" Yosuke-san recoiled as if the question had been a physical blow. "Uh, well … what about you?"

"I did! I seriously saw a girl!" Chie-san sounded conflicted between being overjoyed about the rumour being true, and confusion at the gender of her "soul mate." "But … my soul mate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a lesbian, Chie-san," I said. Before I could even blink, a sudden throbbing pain sprouted in my nose, and I had to raise my hands up to it to stop the blood from flowing everywhere. I glared at Chie-san, who was glaring right back, her fist still raised. "God _damn_ it, Shatonaka! I was fucking _joking_!"

"Oh yeah?" she growled at me. "Well, why don't you try coming out with something that's actually – oh, I don't know – _funny_ , next time?" She took a few deep breaths and seemed to calm down, then resumed the conversation. "I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure … Her hair was brown, about shoulder-length. She was wearing our school uniform, and …"

 _What the FUCK!?_

"That'sh who _I_ shaw!" I said. My voice sounded ridiculous because I was still trying to stop my nosebleed, but I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "I could tell she was from our shchool and that her hair was brown, but that'sh about it."

"Hey … I think that's the same person I saw, too …" said Yosuke-san. "I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier."

"Wait, so you two saw it, too!?" Chie-san asked us in shock. "And we all saw the same girl …? Does that mean … we have the same soul mate?"

"Ish that even legal?" I asked. "That shoundsh like shome pretty illegal shit, right there. I shupposhe if no one getsh married … okay, I'm gonna shtop right there, thish ish shtarting to get awkward."

"How 'bout you?" Yosuke-san asked Yu-san. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah," said Yu-san. "It was a girl with long brown hair and a Yasogami uniform. And ..." he hesitated, "... and something weird happened afterwards, too. My head started hurting and there was this voice, and … and I touched my TV screen, and my hand went _inside_ the TV. And then it was like there was something pulling me in, and my head got stuck because the screen was too small. Eventually, I managed to pull myself out and my head cracked off the table. It _really_ fucking hurt."

"It sounds like we all saw the same person …" said Yosuke-san. "But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your TV …?" He sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "Were you _that_ tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV."

"That'd be one interesting dream, though," said Chie-san. She looked rather amused, too. "I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic. If it had been bigger—" Her eyes widened slightly, as if remembering something. "Ohhh, that reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV."

"Oh yeah?" asked Yosuke-san. "Well, flatscreen TVs are definitely in these days. Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."

 _What are you, Junes' advertising campaign?_ I thought but managed to bite my tongue and keep quiet.

"Oh, definitely!" said Chie-san. "My parents don't know _anything_ about electronics, and I've just gotta see my kung fu movies on the big screen! Hwa-taaa!" She held her arms above her head and raised her right leg in some kind of fighting position.

"We've got some pretty big ones in stock," said Yosuke-san, turning to Yu-san with a smirk. "I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into." He cracked up laughing.

"I believe you," I said to Yu-san. I wasn't lying, either. I noticed all three of them looking at me in surprise. "Well, my unplugged TV came to life lasht night, which breaksh bashically every rule of normality imaginable. Who'sh to shay he can't jusht go in? There'sh definitely _shomething_ going on with the TVsh, ishn't there?" Admittedly, the slight lisp I had from the blood running from my nose _may_ have ruined my attempt at using logic a little bit.

Chie-san and Yosuke-san looked at me, then cracked up laughing again, calling me "gullible" and an "idiot." I had half a mind to ask who had immediately believed a rumour about televisions showing the person you'd be spending the rest of your life with but held my tongue. Yu-san smiled at me gratefully, and I smiled back to the best of my ability.

 _Damn, I've gotta get this damn bleeding under control!_

* * *

The four of us stood in the electronics department at Junes. On the wall we were looking at, an abundance of flatscreen TVs were mounted, and what little of the wall wasn't covered in TVs was covered with posters of all kinds. I was slightly uncomfortable due to the two small rolled-up tissues I had stuffed up my nose to prevent more bleeding, but Yosuke-san and Chie-san seemed to be enjoying themselves. Yu-san was looking at the largest of the TVs with a look of curiosity about him.

"Wow, this is _huge_!" Chie-san exclaimed, looking at the massive TV. "And … holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?"

"I dunno …" said Yosuke-san. "Rich folks?"

"So not something this town has an abundance of," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Yosuke-san rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and nodded in apparent agreement. "Honestly, not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

"Huh … Not worth trying then, I guess," said Chie-san. "Well, at least looking's free."

She and Yosuke-san looked at each other and smirked. They walked closer to the TV and gently wrapped their knuckles on the screen as if knocking on a door. _Oh, now they're just making fun of him,_ I thought.

"Nope, can't get in," said Yosuke-san, grinning. "Figures."

Chie-san laughed. "This proves it. It was all just a dream."

"Well, technically it doesn't prove anything," I said. "He said that _he_ put his hand in the TV; he never said a thing about you guys being able to do it."

Chie-san smirked at me. "Who believes in 'childish bullshit' now?" she asked.

I flinched, knowing that she had beaten me. "Point taken …" I grumbled, feeling even worse when Chie-san and Yosuke-san high-fived at my expense.

"Dude, even if he _could_ go through," said Yosuke-san, "these flatscreen TVs are so thin, he'd just end up on the other side …" He groaned a little. "What am I saying!? So, Chie-san," he said, evidently trying to change the subject. "What kind of TV are you guys in the market for?"

"They said they wanted one that's cheap," said Chie-san. "You got any suggestions?"

Yosuke-san fixed a winning smile on his face and cleared his throat. Then he walked a little to our right, followed by Chie-san, and gestured to a TV. "Well, Miss, might I suggest this one over here?" he said in what I can only describe as the voice of a stereotypical salesman. "It's the newest model, just released this Spring …"

"Wha—" Chie-san said with a start. "That's not cheap at all! There's way too many zeroes!"

"I should've asked what you meant by 'cheap' right off the bat," said Yosuke-san.

"What else does 'cheap' mean in _your_ fucking dictionary?" I asked Yosuke-san, an eyebrow raised. Then I noticed a woman walking past with a small child, glaring at me somewhat. I rubbed the back of my neck and mumbled "Sorry" as she walked past.

"You've got connections, right?" Chie-san asked Yosuke-san in a rather desperate sounding voice. "C'mon, hook me up!"

"You know I can't do that …" Yosuke-san said with a sigh. "Hey, how about this one here? It's a display unit. It's a little old, but …"

I noticed Yu-san still staring at the large TV. "What's up?" I asked him. I thought I already knew, but it's good to ask before you make assumptions.

"… With a TV this big, I think I might actually fit …" he said.

 _Right on the money,_ I congratulated myself in my mind. "You probably could," I agreed. "But I wouldn't recommend it. We're in public, and if the store workers see you with your hand in the TV, they'll probably think you broke it."

"Yeah, probably," he said, then began to reach his hand out anyway.

He touched the TV screen … and his hand rested against it normally. I had a brief moment where I started to think that maybe he was crazy, that _I_ was crazy for believing him, to begin with … then his hand pushed forward and sank into the TV without any visible breaks. His hand was surrounded by some sort of white, swirling vortex.

"Holy _shit_ ," I hissed, staggering back a little. Despite believing him, there was apparently some part of my mind, deep in my subconscious, that doubted his story very much. That part of my mind was now reeling, and my body with it. I felt very dizzy all of a sudden, and it was a struggle to steady myself before someone saw me and came over to ask what was wrong. I don't know what I was worried about; if anything, it was the position of Yu-san's hand that would garner the most curiosity from passers-by.

"Oh yeah, Yu-san, Yasuhide," Yosuke-san's voice cut through my surprised haze, "what kind of TV do you guys—" His voice trailed off, and when I looked I saw that his eyes were wide. He was looking right at Yu-san.

"Huh?" said Chie-san, still oblivious to what was happening. "Something wrong, Yosuke-san?" She followed his line of sight and looked at Yu-san. Her own eyes widened drastically.

"I-is his arm … in the TV …?" Yosuke-san asked weakly.

"Whoa …" said Chie-san. She looked to Yosuke-san. "Uh … is that some kind of … new model? L-like with a new function?"

"Hell no!" Yosuke-san quickly came towards Yu-san and I quickly followed closely by Chie-san.

"You gotta be kidding me …" said Chie-san nervously. "Did you really stick your hand through the screen?"

"That's one pretty damn impressive magic trick if he isn't …" I said.

"Y-yeah, a magic trick!" said Yosuke-san with an almost hopeful tone in his voice. "So how's it work, huh!? What's the magician's secret!?"

"I might be able to put in more than just my arm," Yu-san said suddenly.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," I said quickly. "You don't even know what's in the—"

Before I could even finish, he had stuck his head into the screen of the TV.

"H-hey, don't do that!" Yosuke-san yelled at him in panic. "What're you doing!?"

I looked around a little, feeling paranoid. Luckily, it seemed that no one was paying attention to us. The store was near enough empty, as a matter of fact. I guess the fact that very few people shop for TVs here is something of an advantage given the situation we were in.

"Oh my God!" Chie-san exclaimed.

"There's empty space inside here …" said Yu-san. Surprisingly, we could hear him despite the fact that his head was inside the TV.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'inside'!?" asked Yosuke-san.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'empty space'!?" asked Chie-san.

"I think he probably means there's empty space wherever his head has turned up," I said. I was trying to keep a level head, but the situation was making that remarkably difficult. I could feel a snap coming, though it was far off yet.

"It seems very spacious in here …" said Yu-san. I think he was trying to tell Chie-san what he meant about "empty space," but he could have just been unknowingly repeating himself, I suppose.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'spacious'!?" asked Yosuke-san. He sounded like he was nearing the end of his rope.

"I mean, what's going on!?" said Chie-san.

I was about to try and calm them both down when Yosuke-san's hands flew to his crotch as if to guard it. "Holy crap …" he said weakly. "I-I think this is all too much for my bladder …"

 _Oh, you have_ got _to be_ kidding _me!_ I felt exasperated. Could his timing have been _any_ worse? "You'd better not piss yourself in here," I warned him. "We're liable to attract enough attention as it is."

"I've been holding it all day, all right!" Yosuke-san snapped at me. "I-I haven't had a chance to go …" He gave a strangled yell. "Can't … hold it … any more …!" He ran off, presumably to find a bathroom … and ran back again barely a moment later. " _Shit_! Customers! They're coming!"

 _Then_ I started to panic a little.

" _Please tell me you're fucking joking_!" I whispered aggressively. _We could be in some serious shit here …_

"But we've got a guy half stuck in the TV here!" said Chie-san. "Wh-what're we gonna do!?"

The two of them started panicking and almost running around the area. That was only drawing more attention to us, so I decided that I had to try and stop it.

"Guys," I said, trying and failing to get their attention. _Why do you people keep ignoring me …?_ "Guys, I _really_ think we should calm down and—" I was cut off when Chie-san stumbled into me, followed by Yosuke-san stumbling into her. The impact caused all three of us to bump into Yu-san, who proceeded to fall forward and into the TV … with all of us falling in with him.

 _WHAT THE FUCK!?_ I screamed in my mind as the sensation of falling suddenly took over. My eyes, which I had closed when I was bumped into, snapped open, and all I could see was a white and black, strangely square-shaped vortex encircling me and the others. I found myself screaming – as did they – as we all fell. I know I had believed Yu-san about his power to enter the TV, but this was too much strangeness in too short a time frame, and I don't think my mind was equipped to handle it all. We just kept falling … and falling … and falling …

… and then the vortex vanished, and I found myself landing, rather painfully, on a solid floor.

" _Ow_ …" I moaned out as I lay, sprawled out on the floor. I had closed my eyes again.

" _Ow …_ " I heard Yosuke-san groan from somewhere near me. "I landed right on my wallet …"

"Man, where the heck _are_ we …?" Chie-san said from somewhere close.

With some effort, I opened my eyes, and was greeted with a sight that I had become strangely familiar with as of late: Fog. Lots of fog. It was a strange colouration of yellow, but it was fog nonetheless. I couldn't see _anything_ through it. It was like trying to stare through steamed-up glass; I just couldn't do it.

"What is this place?" asked Chie-san. "Someplace inside Junes?"

"Hell no it isn't …" said Yosuke-san. "I mean, we fell through a _TV_."

"I think we're all aware of that, Yosuke-san," I said with a groan, standing up. "It's not the sort of thing one forgets in a hurry."

"… Okay, so what the hell is going on here?" Yosuke-san asked.

"So … uh … we're still alive, right?" asked Chie-san.

"Are you guys okay?" said Yu-san. There was concern evident in his strange blank voice.

"About as okay as I can get considering what just happened," I told him.

"I think my butt's cracked now …" Yosuke-san whined.

"Of course it is!" Chie-san snapped at him.

Yosuke-san didn't respond. He looked around for a few moments, looked up, then his eyes widened. "Whoa …" he said with a gasp.

I looked up, too, and I saw what made him gasp. It made me gasp, too. "This is just getting weirder and weirder …" I muttered.

Chie-san looked between the two of us. "What now?" she asked, slightly aggressively.

"Look around, stupid!" Yosuke-san snapped at her.

"I'd do as he says," I said, looking around, my mouth still agape. "I assure you, you'll definitely want to see this …"

It could just barely be seen through the fog, but it was definitely there. Around us were four pillars of metal scaffolding which interconnected above us. Attached to the scaffolding were numerous stage lights and messes of wires. There was a short flight of metal stairs on either side of us, almost like a fire-escape, each one attached to a metal walkway that vanished into the fog after a while. We were stood on a strange spiral pattern with several shapes that looked like the chalk outlines they use at crime scenes.

This place looked like some kind of TV studio …

"Is this … a studio?" Chie-san asked in apparent shock. "All this fog … or is it smoke? There's no place like this in Inaba, is there?"

"Definitely not," I said, shaking my head as I continued to take in the surroundings. "I've lived in Inaba my entire life. If there was ever something like this in town, I think I'd have heard about it by now … What the fuck's going on here …?"

"This place is _huge_ …" said Yosuke-san.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Chie-san. She sounded a lot more worried than the rest of us.

"Let's look around," Yu-san suggested.

"Huh?" said Chie-san. "B-but … Look, we need to get home and—!" She looked around, rapidly spinning her head. Despite the density of the fog, I could see the fear growing on her face perfectly, and it was making me nervous. "H-huh …? Wait a minute … Which way did we come in from? I don't see a way in … or _out_!"

"What?" asked Yosuke-san. His own tone was becoming panicky now. "That can't be right! H-how could that be!?"

"I don't know!" Chie-san yelled at him. "Don't ask me!" Her voice was starting to crack. "I can't take this any more! I want to go home!"

"Okay … so how!?"

"Would you two _please_ just calm the fuck _down_!?" I asked the two of them, exasperated. I was nervous – downright terrified, even – but I was still _thinking_ about the situation, and I saw that panicking wasn't going to help anything. "We came from _above_ , remember? We quite literally _dropped_ in. So leaving the way we came in is out of the question, you following me?" They nodded, though neither seemed happy about it. "Okay, good. Now, I suggest we go with Yu-san's plan of looking around. If there's a way out to be found, we're not going to find it by standing around here, are we?"

"Yasuhide's right," said Yu-san. "We need to look for a way out."

"Is there really a way outta here …?" asked Chie-san.

"We got in … so we must be able to get out somehow," said Yosuke-san.

"Exactly," I said, pleased that at least Yosuke-san was apparently calming down somewhat.

Chie-san, however, looked unconvinced. "That's true, but …"

"If there's no exit, we're trapped, so let's cross our fingers and look around," said Yosuke-san.

Chie-san nodded reluctantly, and Yu-san walked toward one of the staircases. Following him felt strangely natural, almost like he knew what he was doing. As Yosuke-san, Chie-san and I followed him, however, I allowed my mind to wander a bit.

It was unnerving. Not only the situation itself but also everyone's reactions to it. Yosuke-san normally acted really confident; he was the class clown and had a generally upbeat attitude. So seeing him so panicky like this came as something of a shock. But no matter how surprising Yosuke-san's reaction was, it was absolutely _nothing_ compared to Chie-san's. The girl was a certified badass most of the time, what with her kung-fu obsession and her lack of hesitation when it came to kicking the crap out of anyone who gave her or Yukiko-san – _especially_ Yukiko-san – shit. Seeing her so panicked, near enough in hysterics, actually kind of frightened me.

And while I may have _acted_ calm and collected thus far, on the inside I was about ready to shit myself in terror. As I have said, I'm used to the town and everything in it, and the thought of anything too new and unusual was a thought that I didn't want in my head. This situation _definitely_ counted as new and unusual. I knew instinctively that if anything more were to happen, if anything were to cause me even more fear, my calm façade was going to snap like a twig.

Eventually, we came across a building. It looked like some kind of … motel? The rooms were certainly organised like that of a motel, so that's what I'll call it. There was one room at the end of the row that was open. From a distance, it almost looked like there was some kind of red and black swirling vortex in the doorway.

"What is this place …?" Chie-san asked. "It feels different from where we were before …"

"It looks like we're in some kinda building," Yosuke-san observed. "But … Damn, this fog's so thick, I can hardly see."

"Are you sure we're not wandering farther away?" Chie-san asked.

"I can't be positive, but we've gotta trust our instinct a little," said Yosuke-san.

"Instinct has nothing to do with it," I said. "This is the only building we've seen so far, so it stands to reason that there's something different about this. It's more logic than instinct when you get down to it."

"There's no point arguing about it," Yu-san said before anyone else could speak again. "We've got no choice but to go on."

He walked toward the door, and we followed.

It was somebody's bedroom. There was a bed, as one would expect, and a rather large window. There was a shelf by the bed, and there were a lot of posters on the walls – they were all the same poster, from what I could tell. There was a chair in the centre of the room.

"Hey, is it me or is the fog lighter here?" said Yosuke-san.

Now that he mentioned it, it actually _was_ lighter here. I couldn't see through the window at all, but the inside of the room was relatively clear of fog, with only a light yellow mist appearing at all.

Yosuke-san got his phone out and flipped it open. "No service," he said. "What a surprise …"

"Were you expecting there to be?" I asked him. "We fell inside a TV. Call me crazy, but I doubt they planned for that when designing our phones."

"Can you guys slow down a little?" said Chie-san as she entered the room. I hadn't even noticed she'd fallen behind. "It's hard enough to see where you're going … Huh? What the …?"

I turned to look at what she had seen – as did Yu-san and Yosuke-san – and at once became even more disturbed than I already was. I had been focusing on the side of the room with the bed, only briefly noticing the chair as I came in, but on the walls nearer the door was nothing short of a horror show. That same poster was there, over and over, each one having the face of the person on it completely ripped off. Splattered on the walls was what I could only hope was red and white paint.

There was plenty to suggest that something _seriously_ messed up had happened here.

"It's a dead end!" Chie-san said. "There's no exit!"

"Really?" I asked. " _That's_ what you're focusing on? Not the seriously creepy Norman Bates vibe that's radiating from the atmosphere in this place?"

"Yeah, it does have a horror movie vibe," Yosuke-san agreed with me. "It keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go …" He groaned loudly and his hands went back to his crotch. "I can't hold it any longer … My bladder's gonna explode …!" He ran over to one side of the room, and I heard quite distinctly the sound of his zip being undone.

"Yosuke-san!?" Chie-san exclaimed, gaping at him. "What're you _doing_!?"

"I believe he's pissing in the corner, but don't quote me on that," I said. Then Chie-san stepped on my foot and I shut up.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!" said Yosuke-san.

"You're going _here_!? Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding …" said Chie-san.

Their arguing was beginning to get on my nerves and combined with the feelings of fear that had been bubbling up ever since we fell into this place, that wasn't a good thing. I had never been quite this scared before, so I had no idea how I was going to react with the aggravation thrown on top of that.

There were a few tense moments of silence, then Yosuke-san peaked at us over his shoulder. "T-turn around!" he said, looking embarrassed. "I can't go if everyone's watching!" We turned our heads, but he let out a groaning noise and re-zipped his trousers. "… I can't do it! It's all your fault if my bladder bursts!"

"Okay, you know what, Yosuke-san?" I said, walking towards him. I wasn't sure what I planned on doing, but everyone's fear and constant arguing had gotten to me, and I just couldn't stop myself. "If you really need to piss _that_ badly, why don't I give you a hand?" I reached him, pulled back my arm, and punched him in the lower stomach before I even had a chance to register what I was doing. Yosuke-san fell to the floor, groaning in both pain and … relief?

That's when I noticed the puddle of liquid forming around Yosuke-san's lower regions.

"Oh …" I raised a hand to my mouth in shock. "Oh, sweet Jesus, I'm sorry … I have no idea where that came from … I shouldn't have done that, I _really_ shouldn't have done that …" I looked around for a moment then pulled one of the posters down off the wall. I passed it down to Yosuke-san. "I'm _really_ sorry, man … here, mop yourself off with this … I'm _so_ sorry …"

"Okay, stop saying you're fucking sorry, I get it," Yosuke-san grumbled, accepting the poster but glaring up at me the entire time.

I turned away – as politely as I could given what I'd just done – and saw Chie-san staring at me in shock. Yu-san wore his usual stoic face, but there were hints of concern in there.

"I know, that was random and aggressive," I said, sighing. I blushed in shame. "I guess this place is getting to me more than I thought …"

"Well, can you take it out on a _wall_ or something next time?" Yosuke-san asked from behind me. "About the last thing I needed right now was a punch in the stomach."

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly as he stepped around me. "Sorry," I said again.

He glared at me for a few moments, then sighed. "We're all freaked out right now," he said. It wasn't quite forgiveness, but it'd do.

"Okay … now that _that's_ out of the way …" Chie-san said, eyeing both of us. "What's up with this room? Check out these posters … their faces are all cut out … Someone must really hate this person …"

Yosuke-san moved toward the chair in the centre of the room. He was looking up nervously, like he'd seen something. Following his line of sight, I saw it, too. I thought it was a rope at first, but upon closer examination, it turned out to be a red scarf. Whatever it was didn't matter, however, as the fact that it was tied in a _noose_ and hanging from the _ceiling_ told me all I needed to know about what was wrong with this room.

"Dude … this chair and rope …" Yosuke-san said, gulping. "That kind of arrangement is _never_ good … It's tied in a noose … Is this a scarf …?"

"C'mon …" said Chie-san. "Let's go back to where we came from and look somewhere else for an exit …"

We all nodded in agreement and moved to leave the room. But Yosuke-san stopped in the doorway, eyeing one of the posters as he was passing it. "Hey …" he said. "I think I've seen that poster before …"

"Who CARES!?" Chie-san shouted at him. "Let's go! I am _sick_ of this place! And I'm not feeling so good …"

 _Actually … now that she mentions it …_ I put a hand on my stomach in discomfort. My stomach was churning and my head felt like it was spinning. I _had_ thought it just an effect of the stress I was going through, but if Chie-san could feel it, too … what _is_ this place …?

"Now that you mention it, me, too …" said Yosuke-san, groaning. "I thought it was just from Yasuhide's punch," he threw a brief glare at me over his shoulder, "but now I'm not so sure …"

"Same here," I said. Chie-san feeling the same sickness might have been a coincidence, she _and_ Yosuke-san feeling it was just too convenient to be one.

"My body _does_ feel heavy …" said Yu-san, basically destroying any chances of it being a coincidence.

 _What the hell is this place doing to us …?_ That fear began to settle in again, and I did my best to swallow it down.

"All right, let's go back," said Yosuke-san. "I'm seriously starting to feel sick …"

"Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here," I agreed, my voice shaking. "I'm _really_ starting to hate this place …"

We began making our way back to where we had started. I once again took the time to reflect on the situation and found that I was in an even worse mood than I had been before. My mind kept flashing back to when I had punched Yosuke-san, and each time I thought of it I got even more upset. He hadn't deserved it, not even in the slightest, but apparently, my stress levels were so high that I wasn't even thinking about it. That was new. I spent so little time with people outside of school that I guess I'm just not used to dealing with stressful situations while others are around. My completely inappropriate and overly aggressive reaction to the situation proved that much if nothing else.

Then there were those posters … Now that Yosuke-san had said it, I thought they looked kind of familiar, too, but I couldn't for the life of me think of where I had seen them before. There was something just plain _wrong_ going on in this place, and I wasn't sure I wanted to stick around to find out what it was. I don't think my mind could handle too much more …

"Whew … we finally made it back here …" said Chie-san. I was so lost in thought that I hadn't even noticed that we'd arrived. She narrowed her eyes into the fog. "Wait … what's that …?"

I looked, too, and there was _something_ coming toward us … I couldn't make out too much detail due to the fog, but I could definitely see some kind of moving shape out there …

"Th-there's something over there!" said Yosuke-san, apparently noticing it, too.

It looked … round, like an oval on legs. As it emerged through the fog, I saw that it was strangely … _adorable_. It was short – maybe half a foot or so shorter than me – and had a red and white body, the patterns seeming to mimic a jacket of some sort. Its eyes were large and black, and it had a pair of blue bear ears and a small spike of fur growing from the centre of its head.

"What is this thing?" asked Chie-san. "A monkey? A bear …?"

"What in the world …?" said Yosuke-san.

"Looks like something out of a cartoon, or an animé, or something," I said, tilting my head to the side in curiosity. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was a bear. But that's about all I can gather. What in the hell …?" This thing was strange, but it didn't seem threatening.

"Th-that's what I wanna know!" the bear-thing said in a high-pitched, yet nevertheless male, voice. "Who are you guys …?"

Yosuke-san and Chie-san visibly flinched back when it spoke. Even I'll admit that I took a step back in surprise.

Chie-san gasped in shock. "It _talked_!" She took an aggressive stance. "Wh-what are you!? You wanna fight!?"

The bear-thing began to cower. "D-don't yell at me like that …" it stuttered out.

 _Yep, definitely not dangerous,_ I concluded upon seeing that.

"What are you?" Yu-san asked the bear-thing.

"I'm a bear," it said. "Can't you tell? I live here by myself."

 _Called it!_ I cheered in my mind, then backtracked a little. "How can you _live_ in this place?" I asked. "It doesn't seem all that habitable from where I'm standing. And, by the way, where exactly _is_ here?"

"I dunno," said the bear, shrugging. "I've just always lived here. It doesn't have a name." He paused. "If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

"Huh? Throwing people in? What're you talking about?" Yosuke-san asked, summing up what I'm pretty sure we were all thinking.

The bear began stamping his foot on the ground. "I don't know who's doing it!" he snapped. "I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!"

"Hey, what's your problem?" Chie-san asked angrily. "What gives _you_ the right to yell at us like that!? What _are_ you!? Where _are_ we!? What the heck's going on here!?"

"Calm down, Chie-san," I said. She looked at me like she was about to respond, but I cut her off. "He says this is his home, right? Then from his point of view, _we're_ the invaders here. We just sort of showed up in his home, I think he has every right to be frustrated with us, don't you?"

She seemed to calm down somewhat, but it was a little too late. The bear was now cowering behind Yu-san, staring out at Chie-san in fear.

"I already told you …" said the bear hesitantly. "A-anyways, you should hurry back."

Yosuke-san sighed. "What it comes down to is, you want us to get outta here, right?" he asked. "Well, so do we! We just don't know how, dammit!"

The bear released a strange little growl. "That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!" he yelled.

"Like I keep saying, we don't know where the frickin' exit—" Yosuke-san stopped suddenly. "Wait … what?"

"You can do that?" I asked, hopeful. I'd had enough of this God-forsaken place.

The bear stamped his foot on the ground twice, and a stack of three old-fashioned box TVs appeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the hell!?" exclaimed Yosuke-san.

"Ah, makes sense," I said, nodding. "We came in through a TV, so it's only logical we'd have to leave the same way. Why did none of us think of that earlier?"

"Plot convenience," said Yu-san.

"Right," I said. "Wait … what?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, now go, go, get outta here!" the bear said, getting behind us and starting to shove. "I'm a very busy bear!"

"Whoa, what's going on now!?" Chie-san asked. "Hey, what're you doing!?"

"S-stop pushing!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"God, this is cramped," I growled. It was like trying to squeeze four people into one phone box, and we were all sort of squeezed together. And then the strange square vortex was back again, though this time I got the sensation of floating rather than falling, and it was actually quite pleasant. Then …

… I fell forward out of the TV, only to then be crushed when Yu-san landed directly on top of me. Despite the pain, I felt a sudden wave of relief. We were back in the Junes electronics department.

"Huh?" said Chie-san. "Is this …?"

"Did we … make it back?" asked Yosuke-san.

"Unless Junes has stores in the TV dimension, I'd say yes," I groaned. Yu-san got off me when he realised he had landed on me. The rest of us got up shortly after.

"Attention, shoppers," said a woman over the Junes intercom system. "Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain!"

"Crap, it's already that late!?" said Yosuke-san.

"Looks like we were in there for quite a while," said Chie-san.

 _Which means I won't be able to eat out tonight,_ I thought, deflating slightly in sadness. I was going to have to eat at home again, and I never particularly liked that.

Yosuke-san's eyes widened as he looked at the wall behind the TVs. "That's right!" he said. "Now I remember where I saw that poster before … Look over there! That's the poster we saw!"

I looked and saw that he was right. It was a poster of a rather beautiful middle-aged woman. More specifically, it was a poster of Misuzu Hiiragi, the enka singer whose husband had been having an affair with Mayumi Yamano before she had died.

"Hey, you're right, they're the same," said Chie-san. "I couldn't tell before without the face, but it was Misuzu Hiiragi … She's been all over the news lately …"

"Her husband was banging the dead chick behind her back," I said bluntly. "Looks like someone in our little TV world wasn't a fan …"

"Hey, so does that mean …?" said Yosuke-san. "That weird room we saw … Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death …? Now that I think about it … there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling …" He growled to himself. "Stop! No more! I've gotta stop thinking about this. I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain. I don't think my poor heart could take any more."

"Not to mention your bladder," I said. He glared at me. "Too soon?"

"I'm feeling a chill, too," said Chie-san, shivering. "Let's go home … I wanna lie down and rest."

I was still feeling pretty crappy, too. As we left Junes, I decided that I would skip out on dinner that night, I just didn't feel up do it. The events of the day played through my mind for the entire walk home.

* * *

When I got home, Baiko and my Kaa-san were eating in kitchen. I had sneezed a few times on the way back, so I knew for definite that I wasn't going to be eating anything that night.

"Hey, guys, I'm home," I said as I walked in. There was that look in Kaa-san's eye again …

"Welcome home, Yasu," said my Kaa-san. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, and I'm not going to," I said. The sneeze that followed was the only explanation she needed.

"All right, then," she said. "You head on up to bed and try to get an early night. Resting should help you out."

"And try not to get snot on anything on the way up," said Baiko. "I don't wanna catch whatever shit you have."

"Duly noted," I said, moving toward the stairs. "I'll try my best to sneeze somewhere in the house you never go near. Like the _shower_."

"Fuck you!" Baiko called up to me.

"Language!" I heard Kaa-san scold him.

I got into my room and stripped off my uniform, folding it up and putting it in the bottom of my wardrobe. I turned on my TV, hoping to catch the news before going to sleep.

"And now, more on the case still casting a shadow over the foggy town of Inaba," said the news anchor. "Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the police investigation has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Amagi Inn."

 _Huh, so that rumour_ was _true …_ I thought with some interest.

"She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal …?"

"Oh yes, the Amagi Inn!" said the commentator who I had come to loathe so much. "Their hot springs are first-rate. The manager's teenage daughter also works there, and it's rumoured that she'll be taking over the inn this Spring. If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on record! I should book another trip there!"

"Uh … I-I see …" Even the anchor sounded slightly put-off. "Moving along, it's time for the weather report. The rain has begun to subside. From now until morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Inaba region. Visibility will be severely reduced, so please be careful if you plan on driving in the area …"

I turned the TV off with a scowl. _I've had enough damn fog to last a lifetime …_ I thought. After the events of today, fog was the last thing I wanted to see for a good long while. Maybe I'd feel better in the morning like Kaa-san said, but I doubted it very much. One simply can't get over a day this strange after one night of rest.

Nevertheless, I would give it a try. I turned off the light of my bedroom and dropped onto my bed.

Sleep came surprisingly quickly.

* * *

 **All right, I had hoped to release this last week, but things distracted me. And, as I'm writing this final author's note, it's pretty late at night, so I'm too tired to proofread it at the moment, so there may be a fair few mistakes scattered about. I'll go over it again tomorrow and edit it, but for now I just want to get this out there.**

 **I'd just like to say that while some of Yasuhide's actions may _seem_ random, _everything_ I have him do has a point to it. This will become evident in a few chapters' time, but for now, I ask you to be patient.**

 **Now I'm going to answer the reviews I've gotten and call it a night.**

 **GreenDo:** Green, your trolling abilities know no bounds, and in response to your joke review I say: "Go back to your 4Chan raids, you absolute donkey-shite." Good day. :)

 **TJMike:** I'm glad you like it. I'm a big Rise fan, so pairing Yasuhide with her came pretty naturally in the end. I'll certainly try, and thanks for the support.

 **DarkLord98:** Thank you very much for pointing that out. Yasuhide's Arcana is actually one I made up … I don't know how people will take that, but I thought I should do it because every other Major Arcana already has a character representing it in the game.

 **pryojack25:** You got it pretty accurately, Yasuhide _is_ supposed to be somewhat cynical, and you'll see why that is soon enough. It certainly will be a hell of a year!

 **See you guys next time!**


	3. Friday, 15 April 2011 Pt 1

**Greetings, and welcome to chapter three, Constant Readers! I've been having a blast with this, and I'm glad to see that you guys have, too. This segment of story, which I have termed the "introductory phase," will be over in a couple of chapters or so – it basically covers what makes up the tutorial for the game – and we'll see a little more original content at some point during the Yukiko Arc. I'm going to try and update this on a semi-regular basis, while occasionally drifting back to my other stories (or even starting up new ones), so, basically, _this_ is my main project.**

 **Before we begin, I would like to give a _massive_ shout-out to Theboblinator for giving me a sub-plot to use later on in this story! We've been talking about this quite a bit (I got him into the series, and now we're discussing potential fanfiction decisions for both this and his eventual story), and there are some decisions I've come to regarding this that I just wouldn't have thought of myself. Thanks a bunch, mate!**

 **All that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Friday, 15 April 2011

 _Friday, 15th of April, 2011_

I felt better when I woke up that morning. Not normal, but about as close to it as I'd felt in the last few days. And I wasn't feeling ill any more. All things considered, I actually woke up in a really good mood.

There was nothing that really distinguished that morning from any other until we started the walk to school. It was raining again. As usual, Baiko and I left and immediately encountered Yu-san and Nanako-chan as they left their home. We learned from them that Ryotaro left in a rush this morning, so, given what he does for a living, it was pretty reasonable to assume that something was happening. That left me with a rather ominous feeling; I was getting a lot of those recently.

That feeling only got worse once we had separated from Nanako-chan. Yu-san, Baiko and I were walking along quietly when two girls in front of us began gossiping with one another.

"When I looked, I saw three police cars zooming by," said the girl with the red umbrella.

"You live by the police station, don't you?" asked the one with the white umbrella. "Did you hear anything?"

"I heard some yelling, but nothing more. Total disappointment."

"Jeez, you need to pay more attention to stuff like that. How else are we supposed to get the juicy stories?"

 _Try watching the news sometime,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. My head snapped to the side – as did Yu-san's and Baiko's – when the unmistakable sound of sirens began emanating from the distance. That ominous feeling got much worse. _Something's happened …_ I became very sure that something bad was going on. It didn't come as much of a surprise, really, given everything that had happened these last few days.

"Something is going on," said Yu-san with as much surety as I felt.

"Yeah," I said in agreement. I swallowed and some of the dread I was feeling vanished. "We should probably head to school quickly. We don't wanna get in the way if they need to come over here for something."

"I second that motion," Baiko said with a shaky tone of voice. My brother could jump from snarky, sarcastic and aggressive on minute, to nervous and quiet the next. I guess he was just emotionally sensitive compared to other people.

Me? If anything, nervousness made my snarkiness _worse_.

"Let's go," Yu-san said.

We walked to school at a quick pace, but the dread hanging over our heads made it feel like hours.

* * *

 _This isn't a good sign …_ I thought as I stood in the auditorium. The principal had called a sudden assembly in the middle of the afternoon, which had never happened before. Every single person in that room knew something was wrong, and I was no different.

I was tense, shuffling back and forth on the balls of my feet. My mind kept flashing back to the distant police sirens from earlier, and found myself preparing for bad news. It seemed like everyone was, come to think of it … except for the denizens of the rumour mill; they were too busy chatting, speculating, and bullshitting with each other.

"Hey, did you see it yesterday?" said a girl standing in front of me.

 _Speak of the devils …_ I thought with a slight grimace. I really hated rumour mills; they got so many facts twisted up.

"Of course not," said another girl. "… What, is that rumour for real?"

"I dunno," said the first girl, "but it seems like a lot of people have seen it."

"Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch …" Chie-san said tensely. She turned to face Yu-san, Yosuke-san and I; we were all standing near each other, as was the rest of our class. "I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden … Hey, what's wrong, Yosuke-san?"

I turned to face the man in question and found that he _did_ look tenser than the rest of us.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Yosuke-san. Surprisingly, he looked a lot calmer all of a sudden. Maybe Chie-san's sudden question had snapped him out of a particularly stressful train of thought, or something.

"If you say so," I said, shrugging. "You looked like you were in extreme stress mode, though, dude."

"Everyone, please settle down," the history teacher, Ms Sofue, who always wore Egyptian Pharaoh headgear and a dowsing rod, said into the microphone on stage. "The school assembly is about to begin. First, the principal has something to say."

That already didn't bode well. While I would normally make some joke about the principal's Gandalf-like beard, if he was coming on to say something specific this late in the school day, something pretty important must be going on. And judging by recent events, it was something _bad_.

"I … regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you," said the principal in his slightly droning voice. "One of our third-year pupils, Ms Saki Konishi of Class 3 … has passed away."

… _What?_ I immediately, almost on instinct, turned to look at Yosuke-san, and the utterly _destroyed_ look on his face made it feel like a brick had just dropped to the pit of my stomach. I had never seen that expression on another person's face before, and I found myself hoping to God that I would never have to see it again. It was an expression of horror, disbelief, heartbreak, and despair, all rolled up into one terrible package. I found myself looking away from him just so I didn't have to see that look on his face any more …

"Passed away …!?" Chie-san gasped from beside me.

I heard Yosuke-san give a sort of strangled gasp, but I still couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Good God …" I heard Yu-san mutter. The rest of the room was an uproar of chatter and shocked comments.

"Ms Konishi was found deceased early this morning …" the principal continued, and the auditorium went quiet again. "The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you, as students of this school, to provide only the facts."

The chattering picked up again the second the police investigation was mentioned. Frankly, I was surprised they waited _that_ long. I'm willing to bet the gossips were _dying_ to spew speculative bullshit about this.

"All right, please quiet down …" said the principal, trying to regain some semblance of control. "I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident. So mind what you say, not only to the police but to anyone who asks …"

"Found dead …?" said Chie-san. "How could this happen …?"

"I don't know, but it's pretty fucked up …" I said. Mayumi Yamano had very nearly been a celebrity when she died – albeit for the wrong reasons – and somehow celebrity deaths had less of an impact on people. But this … this was someone from our town, our _home_. And now she was dead … Something about someone in our community dying really made this whole thing hit home. I could only _imagine_ what Yosuke-san must have been feeling …

The assembly continued after that; it was basically talking about seeing a grief councillor if the news hit you particularly hard. After it was finished, Yosuke-san still hadn't moved when I left; I gave him a brief, sympathetic pat on the shoulder as I went past him.

Yu-san, Chie-san and I were walking back to our classroom in solemn silence when we overheard a pair of girls talking in the hallway.

"She died the same way as that announcer, right?" one of them said. "That's so creepy …"

"Well, last time, it was from an antenna," said her friend, "but this time she was hanging from a telephone pole. It's gotta be a serial murder case …"

 _Not unless he kills another one,_ I thought. Legally speaking, they would only count as a serial killer if they killed at least three people. I shook my head to rid my mind of that strangely off-topic thought. _Not the time, Yasuhide, not the time …_

"Someone said the cause of death was some unknown poison," said the first girl.

The second girl scoffed. "Unknown …? C'mon, this isn't some sci-fi drama. Oh, by the way, did you hear? Someone saw a girl that looked like Saki on that Midnight Channel thingie. They said she totally looked like she was in pain. Isn't that scary?"

The first girl laughed. "Sounds like someone had a nightmare. The media's been broadcasting their interviews with her non-stop, so maybe they just had Saki on the brain."

The two of them walked off, still chatting.

Now that they mentioned it, the girl Yu-san, Yosuke-san, Chie-san and I saw on the Midnight Channel two days earlier _did_ share some of Konishi-senpai's most basic features. The long brown hair, the school uniform … yes, the similarities were definitely there. But it _couldn't_ have been her, could it? It had to be some kind of weird coincidence …

The ripped posters of Misuzu Hiiragi flashed through my mind, and the strange connection between Mayumi Yamano's death and that TV World came to mind once again. If _she_ was connected to that place, then maybe—

 _Stop it!_ I scolded myself, trying to get rid of that train of thought by shaking my head again. _Stop thinking shit like that! You're mad, there's just no way …_

"Sheesh," said Chie-san as she watched the two girls walk off. My entire thought process had taken barely a few seconds. "It's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved …"

"Tell me about it …" I muttered, more to myself than to her.

"Hey …" came a voice from behind us. It was Yosuke-san. He looked tense, but he had a strange air of certainty about him. "Did you guys check out the TV last night?"

"Not last night, no," I said but was thoroughly overshadowed when Chie-san spoke up in a small yell.

"Yosuke-san! Not you, too!"

"Just listen for a sec!" Yosuke-san yelled back, stunning Chie-san into silence. "Something kept bothering me, so … I watched it again, and … I think the girl on the screen … was Saki-senpai."

… _Shit …_ I thought. If I wasn't the only one who'd had this thought process, then maybe I wasn't so crazy after all … I couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"There's no mistaking it …" Yosuke-san continued. "Senpai looked like … she was writhing in pain … and then … she disappeared from the screen.

"What …?" Chie-san asked. She looked shocked and interested now.

"You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right …?" said Yosuke-san. "Well, remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited because his soul mate was the announcer?"

"That's news to me," I said. I hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"Then you should pay more attention," Yosuke-san told me quickly, then went back to the topic of discussion. "Maybe … Just maybe, but … Ms Yamano might've been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too."

"What's that supposed to mean …?" Chie-san asked. I thought I already knew. "Hold on … Are you saying …?"

"… The people who show up on the Midnight Channel are going to die?" I finished off her thoughts for her. Saying it out loud felt strange, but it had a slightly relieving effect, too, like it had been bursting to get out all along. I sighed and released a chuckle that contained little actual humour. "A little different than showing your soul mate, isn't it?" My voice came out a little bitterly.

"Very," said Yu-san. His breathing was heavy. He seemed to be having just as much trouble with this as the rest of us. "But it makes odd amounts of sense …"

"I can't say for sure," said Yosuke-san. He sounded like he almost hoped he was wrong. "But something tells me … I just can't dismiss it as coincidence."

Chie-san released a shaky breath. I don't blame her; this was a terrifying possibility to consider.

"Plus, remember what that bear thing said?" Yosuke-san went on. "How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears …? It also said that someone's been throwing people in there. And that room with the posters on the wall … it _has_ to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean … don't you think there's some kind of connection there? Couldn't that world in the TV have something to do with Senpai and the announcer's death!? Well … what do you think?"

"You might be right," Yu-san admitted.

"The posters on that wall practically confirm it," I said. "Why would there be so many posters of that enka singer if it didn't have something to do with the whole scandal?"

Yosuke-san's face turned upward a little. "… So it's not just me, huh? If there is a connection, then it's a good bet that the two of them went inside that world. You're right, Yasuhide-san, that'd explain what the posters were doing in that room. Which means … if we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Saki-senpai, too."

"Yosuke-san, don't tell me …" Chie-san's voice was nervous and fearful.

Yosuke-san nodded in confirmation to her unasked question. "Yeah … I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out for myself."

"I'm in," I said without hesitating. The others looked at me in surprise. To be honest, I actually rather surprised myself. "This whole thing is really fucked up. The sooner someone puts a stop to it, the better."

Yosuke-san nodded at me, a grateful look on his face. "Thanks," he said.

Chie-san looked at the two of us like we were insane. "G-guys, don't do this!" she pleaded. "You should just let the police handle this and—"

"You think we can rely on the police!?" Yosuke-san snapped at her. "They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case. Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they'd believe us!"

"Yeah, sounds like a really cheerful conversation," I said. " 'Oh, hello officer. I'd just like to tell you that the killer kills people by throwing them into the TV. No, he doesn't throw them into it and crack their head on the screen, he literally throws them _in_ to the TV. Oh, and there's an alternate dimension inside the TV, by the way. No, I won't be requiring that straight jacket, thank you very much, I'm perfectly fucking _sane_!' "

The others looked at me, blinking.

"You went off on quite the tangent there," said Yu-san.

"… Sorry," I said, embarrassed. "Sometimes my mouth gets away from me."

"The point still stands, though," said Yosuke-san. "If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine … It's just … I need to know why Senpai had to die like this." That forlorn, destroyed look was on his face again, but this time I didn't look away.

"Yosuke-san …" said Chie-san sympathetically.

"After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can ignore it now …" said Yosuke-san. He looked at Yu-san. "Even with Yasuhide-san with me, we can't do this unless you come, too." He looked between Yu-san and I. "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you two at Junes." We walked off in a hurry.

 _But school hasn't ended yet …_ I thought, then found myself stifling laughter. _Of all the things I could think about right now,_ that _'s what I focus on?_

"I can kinda understand how he feels …" said Chie-san. "But we can't be sure we'll be able to get out safely again."

"I'm not exactly looking forward to it, Chie-san," I said. "Hell, going back in there is about the last thing I want to do. But the fact that we _can_ go in, that we _can_ try and find out who's doing this and stop them, pretty much means we _have_ to. As inappropriate as it might be to quote comic books in a serious situation, I think _Spider-Man_ sums up the situation perfectly. 'With great power comes great responsibility.' "

"Y-yeah, but …" Chie-san was hesitant.

"I'm going," Yu-san spoke up. He looked at me. "We'll both go in with Yosuke-san. If there's even a chance we might be able to stop this, we should at least give it a try."

I grinned at him. "I knew there was a reason I liked Yu," I said.

His eyes narrowed at me. "Oh, ha-ha," he said in a deadpan. "You're a comedic genius."

"I try," I said with a shrug. I looked in the direction Yosuke-san had gone in and saw no one there. "Anyway, we should probably get going if we want to be at Junes for the meeting time.

Yu-san nodded at me, and the two of us took off, neither of us caring that school was still technically in session.

"H-Hey, wait!" Chie-san called out, then began to chase after us.

* * *

When we arrived at the Junes electronics department a little while later, Yosuke-san was already waiting for us. I knew immediately how seriously he was taking this. He had a long length of rope tied around his waist, he was holding the rest of it circled in his left hand, and he was holding a large golf club in his right. He saw us coming, and his face lit up with a smile.

"You guys came …!" he said happily.

"We came to _stop_ you, idiot!" Chie-san told him.

"No, _Chie-san_ came to stop you," I said, jabbing a thumb in Chie-san's direction. "I'm ready to head on in and get something done."

"C'mon … you guys really shouldn't do this," Chie-san pleaded. "It's too dangerous."

"I know …" said Yosuke-san. "But we were able to come back once, right? If we go in from the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again."

"We'd better," I said. "As far as we know, that bear is our only way of getting out again."

"And that's exactly why 'maybe' isn't good enough!" said Chie-san.

I cringed slightly as she used my own statement to argue against us.

"Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me," Yosuke-san told her.

Chie-san hesitated. "That's true, but …"

"What about you two?" Yosuke-san asked, turning to Yu-san and I. "Could you guys just walk away?"

"You know I can't," I said. "Sitting around and going about my usual business knowing full well that I could've done something to help … I just couldn't do that."

"… I'm worried about Chie-san," said Yu-san. " _We_ can't walk away, but that doesn't mean _she_ can't. I'd feel uncomfortable dragging her into this if she doesn't want anything to do with it. There's no sense in putting more people in danger than we have to."

He definitely brought up a good point. I found myself nodding with what he was saying.

"Yeah," Yosuke-san agreed, "it'll just be the three of us." He looked to Chie-san. "Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan. Chie-san, I'm leaving you in charge of this." He handed her the end of the rope that wasn't tied around his waist.

"Huh?" said Chie-san. "What's that? A rope …?"

"We'll go in with this tied to me," Yosuke-san explained, "so I want you to hold on to this and wait here."

"Wh-What?" Chie-san stuttered. "Then, this is a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec …"

"Sounds like a solid plan to me," I said. I didn't voice my concern that Chie-san wouldn't be able to lift all three of us. I was trying my best to be optimistic about our chances of running into that bear-thing again.

"Here, Yu-san, this is for you," Yosuke-san said, handing Yu-san the golf club. "I thought it might be better than going in empty-handed." He looked between us all. "All right … let's go. There's no use wasting any more time." He looked at Chie-san with an expression of utter seriousness. "Chie-san, whatever you do, don't let go of that rope!"

"We'll be fine," I said to her, smiling as best as I could. "There's three of us, Yu-san has a golf club, and you're here in case we get into too much trouble. What could go wrong?"

"Probably everything now that you've said that," said Yu-san.

I glowered at him. "Thanks, Yu-san, I was trying to go out on an optimistic note." I sighed. "What are we waiting for, an engraved invitation? Let's go, already."

The three of us approached the TV despite Chie-san's protests, and Yu-san put his hand in first, allowing Yosuke-san and myself to climb in before him. That strange square vortex and the sensation of falling overcame me, and before I knew it I was once again colliding with the ground of the strange TV studio. Yosuke-san landed at about the same time I did, and Yu-san dropped in barely a moment afterwards.

"Owww …" Yosuke-san groaned.

"You can say that again …" I grunted as I stood up, rubbing my rear from when I'd landed. I looked around to check where we were, as did the other two.

"Is this …?" said Yosuke-san.

"It would appear the theory was right," I said. "We came out in the same place."

"So they _are_ connected from place to place!" Yosuke-san said, grinning.

"Lucky us," said Yu-san. He was smiling, too.

I had a bit of a grin on as well, as it happens. It looked like everything was going about the way we'd planned it.

"Y-you guys …" said that familiar, strangely high-pitched voice. "Why'd you guys come back …?" The bear-thing approached us from out of the fog, a look of curiosity, surprise, and slight anger on his face. He stomped his foot on the ground in apparent rage. "I get it! _You're_ the ones behind all this!"

"You're that thing from last time …!" Yosuke-san realised, then his mind seemed to catch up with what was going on. "Wait, what the hell did you just say!?"

The bear-thing turned its back on us before speaking again. "Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up …" He turned back to us. "This is the second time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in. That means _you're_ the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing people in here!" He released a noise that I'm vaguely sure was supposed to be a roar, but it wasn't even remotely threatening enough to be recognised as one.

"Don't label us like that," said Yu-san in the closest thing to an angry tone I think he's capable of.

"Yeah, you little shitbag!" I said. I felt hot anger flush my body. How _dare_ this little bastard accuse us of being killers? "I don't know where you think you get the right to accuse us of stuff like that, but you'd better put in a complaint, because you have no fucking _idea_ what you're talking about!"

"Exactly!" Yosuke-san agreed. "What are you talking about, 'throwing people in'!? If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die! Who would do such a—"

The light bulb lit up in my head at around the time Yosuke-san cut himself off. What if that was what was _meant_ to happen? What if someone had thrown people into this place with the _intent_ to kill them? It would basically be the perfect murder; no one would be any the wiser to the things they had done. It made so much damn sense, in fact, that I felt a chill move up and down my spine like some kind of grotesque snake …

"Wait a sec …" Yosuke-san said. "All this talk about someone throwing people in here … does he mean Saki and that announcer? Did that 'someone' throw those two in here?"

"That must be it," said Yu-san. "It makes the most sense."

"And if it wasn't them, then our being here becomes kind of obsolete," I said. "Which would be a good thing, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think we're that lucky."

"Yeah …" Yosuke-san said, sighing. "If only we didn't have to worry about it …" He looked back at the bear-thing. "Let's assume he's telling the truth …"

"Except the whole 'we're the ones behind it' thing," I said.

"Right, apart from that," said Yosuke-san. "Could it be that someone's throwing people in here, _intending_ to kill them …?"

"It's becoming more and more likely the more this conversation continues," I said.

"If that's the case …"

"What're you guys mumbling about?" snapped the bear-thing. "Why'd you come here, anyways!? It's a one-way door! You can't get out once you're in! Remember? How I had to _let_ you guys out?"

"Yeah, whatever," Yosuke-san said dismissively. "We don't need your help this time! See, this time we have a lifeli—" He lifted up the rope that was tied to his waist … and we all saw that the end had been cut off. " _What_!?"

 _God fucking DAMMIT!_ I thought, groaning, as I looked at the cut lifeline. Of course, I just _had_ to say _What could go wrong?_ didn't I? What the hell had been running through my mind to think uttering a forbidden phrase was a good idea? I bet Chie-san was freaking the fuck out right about now …

Yosuke-san turned to the bear-thing with a glare. "H-hey! You better let us out once we're done investigating here!"

"Pretty please," I said, more politely. I thought it better _not_ to antagonise our only means of escape.

The bear-thing growled in frustration. " _I_ 'm the one who wants to investigate!" he snapped. "I've lived here for a _long_ time. But it's never been noisy like this till now. Do you have _proof_!? _Prove_ to me you're not throwing people in here!"

"It doesn't really work that way …" said Yu-san.

"See!" said the bear-thing. "So it _is_ you guys!"

" _No_ ," I said, growing very irritable. "It's _not_. Here's a question for you: _How_ would we go about proving we didn't do it, eh? If you can tell us that, then maybe we can do it, then you can stop spouting absolute bullshit."

"Don't bother, Yasuhide-san," Yosuke-san said before the bear-thing could get a word in. "We've got _nothing_ to prove to him." He looked at the bear-thing. "Hey, you better answer our questions. This isn't like last time, when we came here by accident. We're dead serious! Listen up, 'cause people have died in our world … Every time the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it. It _has_ to be related to this place somehow! If you know something, tell us!"

The bear-thing tilted its head inquisitively. "A dead body?" he asked. "Whenever the fog appears …? I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here. It's really dangerous when the fog lifts. That's when the Shadows get violent."

That last part confused me. _Shadows …? What the hell is this bear on about?_ I could barely see my shadow, it was so foggy in this place. Hell, I could barely see my _feet_.

"Ah … I get it …" said the bear-thing suddenly.

"Huh …?" Yosuke-san said in confusion. "If you get it, then explain it to us, dammit! If it's foggy on our side, it isn't in here …? Shadows get violent …?"

"That's why I said to hurry back!" the bear-thing said. "It's dangerous when that happens! Okay, no more questions. I _know_ you guys did it! You better stop right now!"

"We've told you and told you, we're not the ones doing it!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"We're here to _stop_ it, you stupid little …" I huffed, breathing deeply, trying my best not to lose my temper.

"I've about had it with you …" Yosuke-san said to the bear-thing. "Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying!?"

"I-I'm just saying … you might be the culprits," said the bear-thing, now looking nervous. "I'm just making sure …"

"What …? Man, this bear's driving me nuts …" Yosuke-san sighed. "What is this place, anyways? It looks like a TV studio … Is something being filmed here …? H-hey, don't tell me … is that weird show being filmed here!?"

"Weird show? Filmed?" asked the bear-thing. "What does that mean?"

"Uh … I'm asking if someone's been _filming_ the people that get thrown in here."

"… I don't get it."

"Okay," I said. "Filming is when someone … _saves_ an event so that it can be watched again. Think of it like … like having a way to watch your memories."

He looked like he understood a little better, but was still confused for the most part. "No one has ever done that filming thing here," he said. "This world has always been like this."

"Run that by me again," said Yu-san.

"Only me and Shadows are here!" the bear-thing snapped at him. "I told you before!"

Yosuke-san groaned. "We don't know what these Shadow things are! Or what you are either, for that matter! You keep telling us to prove our innocence, but _you're_ the most suspicious thing here! Maybe you're the real culprit! And what's with that stupid costume!? I'd say it's time you showed your face!"

"Yosuke-san, I really don't think—" Too late. He was already on the move.

Yosuke-san walked over to the bear-thing, wrapped his arms around his massive head, and began struggling to pull it off his shoulders. For a little while, I didn't think it was going to come off. Then, with a resounding _pop!_ , the bear-things head sprung off … but there was nothing inside. It was like a big, empty mascot costume, there was absolutely _nothing_ inside of this damn bear. No person in the costume, no internal organs to keep him going, no brain (which would actually explain a lot) …

"Whoa!" Yosuke-san exclaimed, dropping the head in shock. He took a fearful step backwards. "Wh-what the hell _are_ you …? I-it's empty inside …"

The headless bear-thing began blindly moving around, his arms stretched out in front of him. It would have been rather comical if it wasn't also incredibly unsettling. As Yosuke-san and I stared blankly, almost fearfully, at the headless creature, Yu-san went over and picked up the head. He then went over to the body and placed the head back on.

The bear-thing shook its head rapidly, then looked at Yu-san. "Thanks, mister!" he said gratefully. Then he froze and a sad expression came over him. "Me …? The culprit …? I wouldn't do such a thing … I just live here …"

 _He says, acting like nothing just happened,_ I thought, then had to stop myself from chuckling aloud.

"I just want to live here peacefully …" The bear-thing sounded forlorn. I could see that this situation was really stressing him out. I don't think any of us had the heart to say anything else overly negative to him after that. He looked up at us after a while, and, strangely, he smiled at us. "Okay, I'll believe you guys aren't the culprits. But I want you to find the real guy who did all this. You have to stop him. Promise me, or else … I'm not gonna let you guys outta here."

Yosuke-san began to look angry again. "Y-you little …!" He was seething.

"This can't keep going on!" the bear-thing cried. "My home here will be a complete mess! And then … and then … I …" Then he burst out _actually_ crying, tears streaming down his face despite the fact that I'm pretty sure he doesn't have tear ducts.

"Wh-what are you crying for all of a sudden …?" asked Yosuke-san. "Jeez, this thing's really weirding me out …"

"What's the big deal, though?" I asked Yosuke-san. "He's asking us to find the guy that did all this and stop him. Isn't that _literally_ what we came here to do?"

"Y-yeah," Yosuke-san admitted hesitantly. "But that's not the point! He's _blackmailing_ us!"

"Into doing something we were going to do anyway," I said calmly. "Why fight it when you know we're going to do it anyway?"

"Yasuhide's right," said Yu-san. "It's directly in line with our own desires."

"You're the only ones I can ask," said the bear-thing miserably. "Will you promise me …?"

"I promise," said Yu-san.

"Yeah, let's go stop this guy," I said.

The bear-thing looked between the two of us; I could have sworn his eyes were sparkling. "Th-thank you!" he exclaimed in joy.

"Damn bear …" Yosuke-san glowered. "Practically holding a gun to our heads … But … it's true that we came here to figure things out. So far, we're completely in the dark. Look for the culprit, huh …? Bring it on! You got my word, too. Might as well introduce ourselves … I'm Yosuke-san Hanamura, and these are my buddies Yu-san Narukami and Yasuhide Kusuhara. You got a name?"

"Teddie," said Teddie-san.

Yosuke-san groaned, and I nodded my head. "Appropriate," I said.

"But how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?" Yosuke-san asked after he had stopped cringing at Teddie-san's name.

"I dunno," Teddie-san said, shrugging. "Oh, but I know where the last person came in."

"The last person …? You mean Saki-senpai!?" Yosuke-san almost sounded hopeful, and that was actually quite saddening. I didn't know what he was hoping for, but I sincerely doubted he was going to find it in here …

"I mean the person who came in and disappeared last time," said Teddie-san. "I don't know the name. I'll take you there. You might find clues. Oh, one thing first. You three should probably put these on." He handed the three of us a pair of thin-framed glasses. Mine was black and sort of square-shaped.

"What are these glasses for?" Yosuke-san asked.

I put the glasses on, and … the fog just seemed to vanish around me! The landscape looked much the same as we had suspected, the only real difference being the red and blue square tiles that surrounded the circle with the chalk outline-like shapes on it.

"Whoa …" I said with a shaky breath.

"Whoa!" Yosuke-san mirrored my own statement. "The difference is like night and day. With these on, it's like the fog doesn't exist."

"They'll help you walk through the fog," Teddie-san explained.

"I would think so, too," I said as I looked around in wonder. These things were _amazing_. "I kinda wish they were like spy movie sunglasses so we could look really badass when we're on the move."

"… Well, I've been here for a long time," said Teddie-san. "So you can rely on me!"

"Thank you very much, Teddie-san," I thanked him in earnest. "These things are going to make this _much_ easier."

"You're welcome!" Teddie-san said cheerfully. Then he began to look awkward and nervous. "But, er … I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves."

Well … that certainly went downhill pretty fast.

"From … what?" I asked. "These 'Shadow' things you keep talking about?" His repeated talk of these "Shadows" was making me slightly nervous. "Shadow" was a pretty ominous name, to begin with, but with the way he kept talking about them, it seemed like they were something to be feared. And that didn't bode well.

"What happened to relying on you!?" Yosuke-san asked him aggressively. "Th-there better not be any monsters! You understand!? We brought weapons, but I mean … they're more for show!"

" _A_ weapon, Yosuke-san," I said. "Singular. And Yu-san has that one. You, me and Teddie-san are pretty much defenceless."

"You're _really_ not helping my confidence in the situation, Yasuhide-san," Yosuke-san said to me with a glare. He then turned this glare to Teddie-san. "We just got here! If it's so dangerous, why don't _you_ do something instead of relying on us!?"

Teddie-san shook his head way too cheerfully. "Uh-uh. No way. I've got no muscles. Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!"

"Oh, you're so _sweet_ , Teddie-san," I said in false gratitude. "I'm sure that's going to be _so_ useful if we're getting torn apart by monsters!"

Suddenly, Yu-san walked toward Teddie-san. He reached out a hand, extended one finger, and lightly poked Teddie-san … who went tumbling backwards and landed on his back. He began rolling around on the floor, wailing for help. I suddenly lost all remaining confidence I had in the situation. _This_ was our guide? Really? I began to fully resign myself to the possibility of dying in this TV World, and I inwardly cursed whatever deity may have been watching for making _this guy_ our only means of escape.

"I-is this thing for real!?" said Yosuke-san in exasperation.

"Apparently." I released a sigh. "We'd better not fucking die in here, or, I swear to God, I'm gonna haunt his ass in the afterlife."

"We swore to find the culprit, and _this_ is all the backup we get!?" Yosuke-san continued to rage.

"… Oh yeah," said Teddie-san suddenly. He stopped rolling around on the floor, and there was an expression of curiosity on his face. "Can I ask you something? Who's this Saki-senpai person? Someone you know?"

Yosuke-san's face fell and he tensed up a little. Nobody really spoke. I felt sympathetic, so I decided to save Yosuke-san the pain of answering. "Not really a great question to ask, Teddie-san," I said. "For now, all you need to know is that we need to find out what happened to her in here. Okay?"

"… Okay." I'm not sure Teddie-san fully understood why it wasn't a great question to ask, but he didn't talk about it again.

Yosuke-san gave me a nod of gratitude, then spoke again. "At least now we know Senpai might have been thrown in here. Maybe we can find more information, too. Let's get moving, guys." He started walking, and so did Yu-san, apparently forgetting about the fact that our guide was still unable to stand up.

" _W-waaaait_!" Teddie-san shouted, flailing his arms and legs in the air.

I sighed, walked over to him, and grabbed his arms. One swift tug later and he was on his feet again.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," I said. "I thought it would be best to not leave our only means of finding our way around here rolling around on the floor."

We got moving, and it turned out that the other two were waiting for us only a few feet away. Teddie-san took the lead rather enthusiastically, and we began our travels through this TV World in surprisingly good conditions.

Maybe this would go our way, after all.

* * *

 _This shit takes creepy to a_ whole _new level …_ I thought as I looked upon the area Teddie-san had brought us to. It was a familiar area, but at the same time there was something unnatural about it. The place Teddie-san had brought us to was an exact replica of the shopping district. And the sky … the sky was like a red and black swirling vortex. _Jesus Christ … this is like something from_ Silent Hill _._

"What is this place …?" Yosuke-san asked. "It looks just like the shopping district …"

"It feels _wrong_ ," I said. I felt a certain revulsion for this hellish imitation of my hometown. "It looks the same, but it's like it's been … _twisted_ , or something. I don't like this …"

"Some weird places have appeared here recently," said Teddie-san sombrely. "Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do …"

"You mean this place just _appeared_?" I asked in disbelief. "That's not possible." But I already knew how stupid saying that was. In a world as strange as the one I was in, of _course_ it was possible. But this place … this place was _weird_. This place was _wrong_ …

"Uh … Teddie-san, why are you standing so far from us?" Yosuke-san asked. I looked, and Teddie-san was, indeed, standing at least ten feet away from us. "You better not be planning to high-tail it if something _does_ come up."

"Of course not!" Teddie-san denied fervently. He began to blush in – I assumed – embarrassment. "I mean. Uh. I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way …"

"Uh huh …" I said, unconvinced, with an eyebrow raised. I sighed. "Whatever. We weren't exactly expecting much defence from him, anyway."

"Man, they really went all out on this …" Yosuke-san said, looking around in awe. "But out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?"

"How should I know?" asked Teddie-san. "This is reality for the one who's here."

Yosuke-san sighed. "As usual, nothing you say makes _any_ sense …" His face lit up in realisation. "But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Senpai's …" He took off running before finishing whatever he was about to say. Yu-san, Teddie-san and I followed, and we stopped when Yosuke-san did, just outside a store called "Konishi Liquors." "I knew it …!" Yosuke-san said. "This is the liquor store that Senpai's parents run. Does this mean … Senpai disappeared here?"

It certainly looked the part. Like every other part of the area, this looked exactly as it did in our world. But the door was open, and rather than seeing inside, there was a vortex just like the one that made up the sky, red and black and sinister as all hell. Just like the door to that room in the motel place …

"What could've happened …?" Yosuke-san asked.

"I don't know," said Yu-san. "But something about that red portal … It's terrifyingly inviting."

Now that he mentioned it, there _was_ something about that red and black vortex that made me want to walk through it. I don't know if it was just my curiosity about what had happened, or if its difference to the rest of the stores in the street was what had me wanting to see inside, but something about that thing said _Walk through me …_

Yosuke-san nodded at what Yu-san said, then began to walk toward the building.

"W-wait a second," said Teddie-san frantically. He sounded really scared. "Th-they're here!"

" 'They'?" I asked.

"What?" said Yosuke-san.

"… Shadows," Teddie-san said. "I had a feeling they were going to attack …!"

Just as he finished speaking, a strange blue mask with a frown on its face appeared to come _through_ the vortex. It dropped to the floor, followed by a black mass of ooze that I assumed made up the body of whatever the hell this thing was. A second joined it a moment later, and the black ooze expanded, forming arms on their "bodies."

Yosuke-san stepped backward and fell to the floor. I began to slowly walk back towards Teddie-san. Yu-san stood stone still, like he wasn't bothered by this at all, though the expression on his face told me he was just as freaked out as we were.

The things – which I felt I could safely assume were these "Shadows" – moved forward, and then seemed to jump into the air … where they _floated_. They rolled into balls of black goo with their masks showing, then began to change colour. They became giant white balls with disorganised black stripes covering them, and a giant red mouth grew on both of them, the massive tongue sticking out and licking the lips; the mask was on the back. They were _hideous –_ hideous and terrifying.

Yu-san tensed up for a moment, then put a hand to his forehead like he was in pain. When he took his hand away from his head, he was holding a … Tarot card? He turned it over in his hand, and it started glowing luminescent blue.

" _What the hell …_?" I muttered as I looked at it.

Yu-san looked down on it, then started to speak. "Per … so … na!"

The card in his hand exploded into a ball of bright blue flames! He held it out in front of him, closed his hand, and a torrent of the blue fire exploded outward. The Shadows completely ignored Yosuke-san, Teddie-san and I, and went toward Yu-san instead. Yu-san yelled and the blue flames spread to behind him, where they exploded and increased in size once again.

Behind Yu-san, amidst the bright blue fire, there now stood a large figure. It looked very metallic, in a strange metal helmet and wearing a large black coat with dark red insides over what I presumed to be more armour. It wore fingerless gloves on both of its hands. It carried a very large spear in its right hand.

One of the two Shadows licked its lips and charged at this figure once the blue flames had died down. Yu-san raised a hand in front of him, seemingly aiming it at the Shadow, and the figure behind him raised its spear and shoved the sharp end forward, impaling the shadow directly through the mouth. It swung the spear around, and the Shadow went flying off it.

The other Shadow, coming from behind, slammed into the figure's back. Yu-san visibly double over, and then turned with a yell of "Get off me!" The figure swung around with its spear, and the sharp end cleaved right through the Shadow, chopping it in half. The Shadow exploded into some kind of black smoke, which dissipated almost at once.

The other Shadow, the one which had been impaled through the mouth, came flying back toward the figure at a rapid pace. Yu-san looked at it with a glare. "Izanagi!" he yelled, and the figure pointed its free hand at the Shadow, whilst holding the spear back, and shot _lightning_ out of its hand. The lightning struck the Shadow, which then became nought but black smoke just as the first one had.

The figure seemed to flash before dissipating. In its place was that Tarot card from before, which floated down and seemed to … _enter_ Yu-san's chest, emitting a light blue glow.

"Whoa!" Yosuke-san exclaimed. "Wh-what was that!?"

"Whatever it was, it was fucking _awesome_!" I said. It was weird and scary, but it was absolutely _amazing_ at the same time. _Holy shit, I'm pretty sure Yu-san just killed a couple of monsters …!_

"Persona," said Yu-san, smiling. He looked down at his hand, the one the card had first appeared in. "This power … it belongs to me." He looked at Yosuke-san, Teddie-san and I, and chuckled.

" 'Persona'?" said Yosuke-san. "What was it— I mean, what did you _do_!? Hey, you think I can do it, too …?"

"I doubt it," I said. "As cool as that was, and as much as I would _love_ to be able to do that, I can't for the life of me think of _how_."

"Calm down, you two," Teddie-san scolded us, walking over and standing by Yu-san. "You're troubling Sensei!"

"S-Sensei …?" said Yosuke-san.

"Well, good news, Yu-san," I said, grinning. "Apparently Teddie-san's in love with you all of a sudden."

Teddie-san turned to Yu-san, stars in his eyes. "Gosh almighty!" he gushed. "You're _amazing_ , Sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!"

 _Were they?_ I asked in my mind. _They didn't look too scared to me …_

Teddie-san gasped dramatically. "Are _you_ the one who's able to bring people into this world?"

"I didn't throw them in here, if that's what you're asking," Yu-san said humorously. "But I did bring Yosuke-san and Yasuhide-san with me."

"Hah!" Teddie-san said. "That's what I thought! This is really something. Don't you two think so?" he asked, looking at Yosuke-san and me.

"Oh, most definitely," I said. He wasn't wrong. Yu-san had done some pretty amazing things in the last two days alone.

Yosuke-san approached Teddie-san with a look of irritation about him. He roughly pushed Teddie-san over. "Dude, you call _him_ Sensei and then don't show _us_ any respect!?"

Teddie-san, who had been pushed over so roughly that he bounced back up again, looked sad. "Sorry …" he apologised.

"It's fine, Teddie-san," I said. "Yosuke-san's just being a bit of a sourpuss because Yu-san got magical superpowers and he didn't."

"Sh-shut up!" Yosuke-san yelled at me. He cleared his throat, then looked at Yu-san and said, "Anyway, you keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out. Now let's get back to the investigation!"

The three of us moved to walk through the strange portal, but stopped in our tracks when voices began resounding from all around us.

 _"I wish Junes would go under,"_ said the voice of a woman.

 _"It's all_ I _because of that store …"_ said another.

"Wh-what the …?" said Yosuke-san.

"Aaaand this just got creepy again …" I said under my breath.

 _"_ _Oh, I heard that Mr Konishi-san's daughter is working there,"_ said yet another woman's voice.

 _"_ _Oh my …"_ said another voice. _"How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is …?"_

 _"_ _I heard their sales have gone downhill_ because _of Junes."_

"S-stop it …" Yosuke-san muttered.

 _"_ _That poor father … to have his own daughter working for the_ enemy _."_

 _"_ _What a troublesome child …"_

"Hey … hey, Ted!" Yosuke-san said. "You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!? So … does that mean this was Saki-senpai's reality when she wandered in here …?"

 _That would be awful …_ I thought to myself. I felt real sympathy for Saki Konishi-senpai in that moment. Had she been hearing these voice just like we were? I couldn't even picture how that must have felt … and Yosuke-san must have been taking it harder than any of us … _This place is evil,_ I decided. _This place is just pure fucking evil._

"I … only know about what's over here," said Teddie-san apologetically.

"Fine …" said Yosuke-san. He turned to face the store once again. "Whatever's going on here … we'll find out ourselves!"

And with that, the four of us went into the imitation of the liquor store. Not one of us realised how differently we would see all of this when we came out again.

* * *

 **I know, I'm an asshole for cutting it off there, sue me! I just thought that Yosuke's Shadow should be shown in a separate chapter, that's all. I know it's short compared to the other chapters, and I apologise for that. I hope you guys enjoy this, because I actually worked through a small spat of illness to get this to you.**

 **As always, to answer some reviews before I leave.**

 **pyrojack25:** Yeah, shit's gonna get intense. The _Persona 3_ project is still in its _very_ early stages, but I _can_ tell you that Minato is going to be the version of the protagonist I use, and he's going to be paired up with Aigis – the plan is to pair my OC with Yukari.

 **DarkLord98:** Yeah, but that's the problem, I like pretty much all of them (the game is really good at getting me attached to characters I wouldn't normally like). And it's not like the games haven't done it before; "The World," "The Universe," "The Jester," and "Hunger" aren't even in the Tarot deck.

 **Theboblinator:** It's good to have you here, buddy! Don't worry, you'll pick it up as it goes along (and you'll have a better understanding now since you've been watching SuperJeenius' playthrough and the animé). Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I apologise for giving you ideas … though I am in no way sorry that I may be reading a _Persona 4_ story of _yours_ in the future.

 **Jacob Deitz:** "The World" Arcana actually _is_ used in _Persona 4_ , but only if you get the "True" ending. And even then, "The World" Arcana is a little too, well … _plot specific_ to be used on an OC character.

 **SlowpokeIsAGamer:** Hey, so I'm not the only one? Sweet! I use it because I don't have a Playstation Vita, but I want to use _The Golden_ for the story. It's certainly good to see that someone appreciates my writing style this much. I don't know it that's a word, but I think it's about as close as we're going to get to an actual term for the people of Inaba. I know that Yasuhide seems to be there too much, and I'm sorry for that, but I want to kick the story into gear before I really start to set him loose. No, it's a card I've just made up; don't worry, I won't be using the plot specific cards. When I say Baiko has become more central, I don't mean he joins the IT; you'll see what I mean when the time comes, but he's certainly more central than I originally planned him to be. I'm probably going to have it set in the same universe – that's the beauty of sequels with different stories and characters; you can do stuff like that.

 **As always, leave your thoughts in the review section if you would be so kind, and I'll see you all next time!**


	4. Friday, 15 April 2011 Pt 2

**Welcome back, Constant Readers, to _Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?_ I'm really enjoying writing this story, and I'm glad to see that you guys are enjoying reading it. This chapter is going to get interesting; it's going to deal with Yosuke's Shadow, and you'll get Yasuhide's thoughts on the whole thing. I did consider having Yasuhide not be present for this, but I was writing out last chapter and it just sort of happened on its own, I guess; the story is developing a mind of its own. I'm in a bit of a spot regarding when Yasuhide is going to face his Shadow, but it's really a choice between two options, so I should have decided by the time I get to the points I'm thinking about.**

 **Oh, and I've decided to put down a key of what the uses of italics and emboldening and such means in the story. I'm getting to a point where I feel like I should put it down as to not confuse anyone.**

"Persona!" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **"Persona!"** – Letters/Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **They won't all be used in this chapter, but that's about the general gist of it. I'll be placing that before each chapter from here on in.**

 **That's all I've got to say, so let's begin.**

 _ **(Edit: 14 November 2017: I've corrected some grammar and spelling mistakes and added in the honourifics to add to the Japanese feel.)**_

* * *

Friday, 15 April 2011 Pt. 2

I was tense as we entered the Konishi liquor store. Not as tense as Yosuke-san, I was sure, but I still felt a certain … _wrongness_ to the place. This cheap mimicry of the shopping district had put me on edge; the Shadows had been demonic in appearance; the voices we had heard outside filled me with a sense of dread. But I never fooled myself into thinking I felt the worst about this, not once. I knew – and I'm sure Yu-san knew, too – that this was going to be worse for Yosuke-san than it would be for either of us.

And while I didn't realise it at the time, I knew instinctively that something was going to change while we were in here.

The liquor store was dark, but I could still see relatively well. There was dust everywhere. Everything looked like a regular liquor store – what I _assumed_ a regular liquor store looked like, anyway – except for the ceiling. Where the wall would have normally ended and became the ceiling, it instead carried on into a much darker wall. The room looked much larger than the outside of the building would have led us to believe. The scaffold-like beams on the ceiling, along with the stage lights that were not turned on, made it appear to be some kind of twisted TV set, just like the entrance to the TV World.

The chattering of the disembodied voices began again.

"Dammit, not again …" said Yosuke-san.

"What is up with these fucking voices …?" I muttered to myself. Either the others didn't hear me, or simply didn't acknowledge that I'd spoken. "This is really creeping me out …"

 _"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?"_ the voice of a middle-aged man boomed out, completely obscuring the other chattering voices.

"I-Is this … Senpai's dad …?" said Yosuke-san.

"… I think it probably is," I said. That was bad. If this was anything like those voices outside, then this was going to get pretty damn ugly.

 _"You know what the neighbours say about you, right!?"_ continued the angry voice of Konishi-senpai's father. _"Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"_

"I … I can't believe this …" said Yosuke-san. His voice was quiet, but I could hear the forlorn and slightly disbelieving tone it held. "She seemed like she had fun at work … She never said anything like this to me …" He suddenly looked angry and frustrated. "You're telling me THIS was how Senpai really saw things!?"

I kept quiet out of respect for Yosuke-san. He was clearly in a bad place right now, and I didn't want to contribute to it getting any worse.

 _But what kind of fucked up guy do you have to be to talk to your daughter like that …?_ I thought. I suddenly felt a wave of anger toward Konishi-san's father, a man whom I had never met. No one should treat their child like this, for _any_ reason. They can think they're doing good by saying stuff like this, but the truth is that it's more damaging than anything else. If Konishi-senpai hadn't been murdered, I'm sure she would have left this place at the earliest opportunity. _I_ certainly would have, if it had been me.

 _But it wasn't you,_ I told myself. _Stay focused on why you came here!_

Yosuke-san seemed to spot something and ran over to the counter. There were numerous small, metal barrels stacked on top of each other behind it, probably to store alcohol. On the counter itself were a lot of pieces of cut-up paper … it looked like a photograph …

"These photos …" said Yosuke-san, confirming my thoughts. "Hey … is this …?" He picked up one of the scraps and looked at it sadly. "It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes … W-Why's it cut up like this …?"

I looked over his shoulder, as did Yu-san, and saw that on the scrap of the photo he was holding, there was an image of Saki Konishi-senpai smiling. Seeing it was almost haunting, in a way. In the picture, Yosuke-san was standing next to her, grinning his usual grin. _That was a different day …_

 _"I … never had the chance to say it …"_ rang out another voice. This time it was the voice of Konishi-senpai herself.

Yosuke's head snapped up from the photo. He looked around wildly for a moment. "I-Is that … Senpaii's voice …?"

 _"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan …"_ said Konishi-senpai's disembodied voice.

"Huh …? Me …?"

 _"_ … _that he was a real pain in the_ ass _."_

And the second I heard the end of that sentence, I knew that Yosuke-san was going to come out of this with some scars.

 _"I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all … But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic … What a dip."_

"… Yosuke-san," said Yu-san. The look on his face told me he was concerned and worried, feelings that mirrored my own.

"P-Pain in the ass …?" Yosuke-san's voice came out weak. There are no words to describe the look on his face other than utterly destroyed.

 _"Who cares about Junes, anyway?"_ continued Konishi-senpai's voice. _"Because of that store, out business is_ ruined _, my parents_ hate _me, the neighbours talk behind my back … I wish everything would just disappear …"_

"I-It's a lie …" said Yosuke-san. "This can't be … Senpai's not like that …!"

 **"It's,"** a sniff, **"so sad … I feel _so_ sorry for myself … Boo hoo …"**

My blood turned to ice. That voice … it sounded like … Yosuke-san? But that couldn't be! He was right in front of me, and he wasn't saying a word! He looked just as surprised and horrified as I did.

I turned around – as did Yu-san and Yosuke-san – and what I saw made me do a double take. It was Yosuke-san … but he had golden eyes … and he was shrouded in some kind of dark blue energy …

 **"Actually, _I'm_ the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass."** The Other Yosuke let out a sick, cruel laugh.

"… There's _two_ of him …" said Yu-san. I think that's the most shock I've ever heard in his voice.

Teddie-san ran over from his spot near the entrance to the store (where I assumed he had stayed so that he wasn't in the way in case of another Shadow attack). "H-Huh?" he said in confusion. " _Two_ Yosukes…?"

"The fuck …?" I said.

"Who are you!?" Yosuke-san asked aggressively. I didn't blame him. If I had randomly encountered a doppelgänger of myself, I would have been pretty hostile, too. "I-I wouldn't think that …"

The Other Yosuke let out another laugh. **"Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes, too! You're sick of _everything_ , especially living out in the sticks!"**

 _What the fuck is going on …?_ I asked in my mind. This was … _insane_! Two Yosuke-sans, one with a voice that sounded like it was amplified somehow. And the things it was saying … Were these things that Yosuke-san actually thought? Or was he just trying to get a rise out of him? I didn't know, but something was telling me I wasn't going to like the answer …

"What're you saying …?" asked Yosuke-san. "That's not true, I—"

 **"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be _surrounded_ by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Ha! I know the _real_ reason you came snooping …"**

"S-Stop it!" Yosuke-san was beginning to sound desperate, like he wanted to stop this other him from speaking.

The Other Yosuke laughed in amusement. **"Why so panicked?"** he asked teasingly. **"I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe … I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that …? Because I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole?"**

"Hey, watch it!" I didn't mean for the words to slip out. I loved my town, and hearing this … whatever the hell he is insult it just made me snap.

 **"Oh, shut up, Yasuhide, you annoying shitbag,"** the Other Yosuke said to me, rolling his eyes. He looked back to Yosuke-san, mimicking his grin as perfectly as he mimicked every other feature. **"A world inside the TV – now _that's_ exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?"**

"That's not true …" Yosuke-san denied, shaking his head. "Stop … Stop it …"

 **"You're just trying to act like a big shot … If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a _hero_! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"**

"That's not true!" Yosuke-san sounded angry now. _Really_ angry. "What are you!? _Who_ are you!?"

The Other Yosuke chuckled. **"I already told ya. I'm you …** **y** **our Shadow … There's** _ **nothing**_ **I don't know about you!"**

"Screw that!" Yosuke-san shouted. "I don't know you! _You can't be me, you son of a bitch_!"

Yosuke-san's Shadow laughed again, this time in apparent satisfaction. **"That's right! Say it again!"** he demanded.

"You're not me …" Yosuke-san said again. "You're _nothing_ like me!"

 **"Hmph,"** said Yosuke-san's Shadow, smirking. **"Yeah, that's right, I am _me_ now. I'm not you anymore, see?"**

The dark blue aura that had previously surrounded Shadow Yosuke turned black, surrounded by a red outline, and it completely obscured his entire body from view. And it got bigger … and bigger … and bigger …

 _What the ever-loving Christ is happening?_ I thought, gritting my teeth in frustration. Yosuke-san collapsed beside me, and I cursed under my breath, kneeling down next to him to see if he was all right.

Then the black aura cleared.

I … don't think I can adequately describe the creature that emerged from the raging black aura, but I'll do my best. Its bottom half heavily resembled that of a toad, except instead of the classic green or grey, it was covered in a camouflage pattern. Its feet were black with yellow lines running down the fingers/toes. There was a large, elongated V shape with a zigzag pattern on it, somewhat resembling a mouth filled with sharpened teeth. It had two round things above the mouth which I presumed were eyes – they were black with a thin, horizontal orange pupil at the centre of each. Then there was the top half. The top half looked like the torso, arms, and legs of a human being, but it was almost entirely black. It wore a red cape on its shoulders, and wore a pair of bright yellow gloves over its massive hands. It had two shurikens for what I assumed were eyes, but to this day I'm not a hundred percent sure on what they were supposed to be for.

Despite its slightly cartoon-like appearance, the thing was _terrifying_.

 _ **"** **I am a Shadow of your true inner self!"**_ it said in Yosuke-san's distorted voice. _**"I'll crush**_ **everything** ** _that bores me! Starting with you!"_**

" _HE JUST TURNED INTO A SHADOW_!" Teddie-san cried, waving his arms around in a panic, then he screamed.

The walls of the liquor store seemed to collapse around us, but instead of seeing the Twisted Shopping District, there were even more of those scaffold-like pillars scattered around, along with more stage lights, and what appeared to be large screens mounted on the walls. The liquor store had transformed into a TV studio of nightmarish proportions …

I was so busy being in awe of the way our surroundings had suddenly changed that I didn't notice Shadow Yosuke swinging one of his massive hands at Yosuke-san and I. That is until Yu-san tackled me, bumping into Yosuke-san on the way down, knocking us both to the ground and out of harm's way.

"Persona!" I heard Yu-san shout.

I looked up and saw him crush the glowing blue card in his hand again, and that large figure from before appeared, much quicker this time, and drove a kick into Shadow Yosuke's chest, knocking him away from us. The Persona then jumped back as Shadow Yosuke drove one of his colossal fists toward him with a grunt, hitting the ground instead.

Rather than continue to watch the fight, I looked down at Yosuke-san, who had sort of curled up into himself from what I could safely assume was fear.

"Yosuke, are you all right?" asked Yu-san.

"Yeah, come on, man, get up," I said. I looked nervously at the Persona and the Shadow, whose fight was taking them all around the room. "If we don't get the hell out of dodge really fucking quick, I get the feeling we won't last too long sitting in the middle of this."

As Yosuke-san was pushing himself onto his hands and knees, Teddie-san ran over and looked at Yu-san with a large smile. "You are truly amazing!" he said in awe.

"Teddie-san, as cool as that thing is, now _really_ isn't the time," I said to him.

"No," Yosuke-san said suddenly. He stared at the ground, not moving to raise his head. "That jerk … isn't me. We're nothing alike." The way he said it sounded almost half-hearted.

"But that jerk you speak of came from a place inside your heart, Yosuke," said Teddie-san.

" _No it doesn't_!"

Shadow Yosuke let out a round of cruel laughter. He was standing nearby, making to take a swing at us, but Yu-san's Persona jumped in the way and slashed at him with his glaive, causing him to leap away again. Those toad legs seemed to be helping with his dodging capabilities.

"It's not me …" Yosuke-san muttered from his spot on the floor. He looked up, glaring into the distance. " _You don't know me at all_!" He got up and made to run for it, but I grabbed his arm. Just in time, too; Shadow Yosuke had landed in front of the area Yosuke-san was trying to run to.

It didn't stop him from taking a swing at us with his long-ass arms, though.

 _Oh shit …_ I managed to keep Yosuke-san behind me, but when Shadow Yosuke's arm impacted my chest, it winded me and sent me flying backwards, right into Yosuke-san. The two of us collided with Yu-san and Teddie-san, and the four of us ended up in a heap on the ground. _Oh, this is going_ wonderfully _…_ Even given the situation, I apparently couldn't stop myself from thinking sarcastic thoughts.

" _Oh no_!" Teddie-san shouted suddenly. I looked near him and saw that there were patches of blackness forming on the floor, walls, and ceiling. "He's beginning to attract the other Shadows! They're coming!" He looked at Yu-san. "Sensei! You have to make him stop! If he doesn't stop, then things are gonna get grizzly real quick!"

Yu-san's Persona made a slash at Shadow Yosuke with his glaive, but Shadow Yosuke grabbed both of his arms, releasing another laugh, and jumped high onto the wall. Then he threw Yu-san's Persona back to the ground, which made the ground shake and I had trouble standing upright.

 _ **"** **I know**_ **everything** ** _,"_** said Shadow Yosuke, looking at Yosuke-san from his spot on the wall. _**"I know just how pathetic you really are!"**_

The screens on the walls seemed to spring to life, and they showed two Junes workers having a conversation.

"What do ya say we go and ask Yosuke for some help?"

"The _prince_ of Junes?"

"Yeah, I know. That guy thinks everyone looks up to him because he's the manager's son."

"Right? He's such a loser."

 _ **"** **You see that everybody just**_ **barely** ** _tolerates you, and yet you still try to pretend that everyone's your friend!"_**

Yosuke-san grabbed his head with both hands, shaking his head in defiance. " _Shut up, already_!"

Shadow Yosuke jumped down from the all, heading straight toward where Yosuke-san was on the floor.

"Here he comes!" Teddie-san warned.

"No shit!" I said.

Just as Shadow Yosuke hit the ground, however, Yu-san's Persona caught him in mid-air, throwing him away from us.

The screen blared to life again, this time showing a rather happy-looking Yosuke-san standing with Konishi-senpai and a group of other Junes workers. It was just like the scene from the ripped-up photograph.

 _"But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic … What a dip,"_ Konishi-senpai's voice rang out again.

 _ **"** **Living in the boonies bores you, so you decided to ask her out, but all you wanted were some cheap thrills!"**_ Shadow Yosuke threw punch after punch at Yu-san's Persona, but none of them hit anything but the wall, then Yu-san's Persona turned around and charged through the air at Shadow Yosuke. _**"You're better off**_ **dead** ** _!"_**

"Izanagi!" Yu-san yelled. Then, at the same time as his Persona – which I thought I could now safely identify as Izanagi – punched Shadow Yosuke in the face … Yu-san punched _Yosuke-san_ in the face.

" _Dude_!" Yosuke-san groaned.

"Oops, wrong guy," said Yu-san, and I, along with Teddie-san, struggled desperately to hold in my laughter.

"Huh?" said Yosuke-san. "What do you mean, wrong guy?"

"You liked her, right?" Yu-san said to Yosuke-san. "I mean Senpai."

"… Yeah," said Yosuke-san, his head drooping. "Actually, I loved her …"

Yu-san walked toward him, offering a hand to help him up. "Then isn't that proof enough?"

Yosuke-san looked up at him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed … then smiled. "Yeah," he said. "You're right." He took Yu-san's hand and stood up. "Thanks."

Teddie-san was still laughing a little. "She dumped ya, huh?"

I smacked Teddie-san in the back of the head, sending him to the floor. "Don't be a dick, Teddie-san," I said, glaring down at him. I turned to Yosuke-san and put on what I hoped was an understanding smile. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said. He looked down at Teddie-san, then up at me again. "Thanks." Then he turned to look at the fight raging between Izanagi and Shadow Yosuke. "I probably knew deep down that everyone found me annoying, but I couldn't bring myself to actually believe it. I wanted so desperately to try and fit in, I pretended things were cool. Sometimes even _I_ think I'm a pain in the ass. But no matter what, my feelings for Saki-senpai were real. So that's a part of me, huh?" He started walking toward it, and it toward him. "I guess if I'm gonna be honest … _all of this_ is a part of me."

Shadow Yosuke stopped abruptly, then seemed to recoil in pain. Different parts of its body were being obscured by what looked like the static you get when you don't have a signal on a TV. _**"You are so freaking annoying!"**_ it yelled between cries of pain.

"Something's wrong with him …" said Teddie-san. "Now's your chance!"

"Izanagi!" Yu-san yelled again.

Izanagi pointed an arm at Shadow Yosuke and, just as he had with the Shadows outside, sent a torrent of lightning at him. The lightning hit dead-on, and Shadow Yosuke screamed in pain as he was consumed by the black aura that had come over him during his transformation. This time, however, when the blackness cleared, he was back to looking like Yosuke-san again, and he collapsed to the floor.

Yosuke-san walked over to him ... self, I suppose, knelt down, and put his hand on his Shadow's shoulder. "You are a part of me, and I'm a part of you," he said.

Shadow Yosuke's face broke out in a soft smile. Then he disappeared, dissolving into blue energy, which raised into the air and began to form something else. It was a large, humanoid creature that appeared to be male whose body was mostly white. He had on the same red cape as Shadow Yosuke had, only the cape appeared to be held on by the elongated V shape, which also seemed to originate from Shadow Yosuke. His large hands had a camouflage pattern – as did the bottoms of his legs – and strongly resembled Shadow Yosuke's toad feet. There was a large shuriken on the palm of each hand. His head was round, black, and featureless, with two smaller shuriken on either side, seeming to resemble eyes. He also had the two toad eyes of Shadow Yosuke on the top of his head, sort of reminding me of Mickey Mouse's ears.

He vanished in a flash of blue light and a card, much like the one Yu-san crushed to summon Izanagi, floated down in front of Yosuke-san. "Jiraiya …" I heard him mutter.

 _Must be the name of his Persona,_ I thought. He had gotten a Persona by accepting his Shadow as part of himself … that was _really_ cool, if more than a little bit terrifying, as well.

"This is my Persona …" said Yosuke-san. He crouched down a little, probably to rest after the whole ordeal. "When we heard Senpai's voice … I wonder if that was something Saki-senpai had been keeping deep down inside …" He laughed weakly. " 'He was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out … Jeez, this is so embarrassing …"

"I won't tell anybody if you won't," I said, smirking a little.

He laughed again, with more humour this time. "Deal," he said. Then he looked at Yu-san. "If you weren't here, I don't know what woulda happened … Thanks, Yu." He stood up. "Hey, Teddie-san … Could Saki-senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?"

"I think so," said Teddie-san. "The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk … and you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the host."

 _Well, that's terrifying,_ I thought.

"So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world …" said Yosuke-san. He released a shaky breath. He didn't look like he was in peak condition at the moment.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out …" Teddie-san was frowning. "This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here."

I honestly felt relatively fine. My stomach was starting to churn just a little bit, but I wasn't feeling quite as bad as Yosuke-san looked at that moment. Maybe it was simply the fact that I hadn't been as stressed out during that situation as he had.

"I don't hear any more voices," continued Teddie-san. "I think we're done with this place. Let's go back."

The four of us began to leave the store. Before we had even left the store, a number of thoughts ran through my mind. They all related, in one way or another, to the situation with Yosuke-san's Shadow. It had shown up and taunted him about things he wanted to keep hidden, feelings he had ignored for so long that he didn't even believe they were there at first. The thought of something like that happening to anyone was a terrifying thought to have. And that just begs the question … what about me? Yu-san was out of the question; the fact that Yosuke-san had had to gain a Persona through accepting his other self while Yu-san just had one to begin with proved that he didn't need to worry. But for me? I didn't have a Persona – at least, I was damn sure I didn't – so the natural conclusion is that I would have to face my own Shadow in order to gain one.

There were plenty of thoughts and feelings I kept to myself, but that didn't seem to be what the Shadows did. The things Yosuke-san's Shadow brought up had been buried _really_ fucking deep, deep to the point where he couldn't even _acknowledge_ them at first. So, the question was … did I _want_ to come in here again? Did I want to risk seeing what a Shadow could dig out of my mind? I didn't want to … but I wouldn't feel right quitting after all this. As terrifying as it may be, I was going to risk it, I had come dug too deep into this with Yu-san and Yosuke-san to duck out because I was afraid.

Afraid was actually putting it rather lightly. I was _terrified_ by what might come out of a Shadow's mouth concerning me.

We exited the liquor store, back out into the Twisted Shopping District. I was still lost in my thoughts, so when I saw the movement out of the corner of my eye, I was surprised enough that my head snapped to the side on instinct, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I had seen something darting around the corner …

"Hey, Yasuhide-san," said Yu-san, snapping me out of my thoughts by placing a hand on my shoulder. "You okay? You just stopped."

"I thought I saw …" I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Never mind. I'm just a little on edge. This place seems to be full of things that can kill us."

"We'll be fine." He patted me on the shoulder. "Come on."

The four of us walked out of the Twisted Shopping District together, and personally, I was glad to be rid of it.

* * *

We arrived back at the entrance of the TV World in relative silence. We stopped when we reached the place we had landed when we entered and stood still for a moment. When the silence was broken, it was Yosuke-san who spoke up.

"Hey, Teddie-san. You said that this place is reality for people who enter, right? So that shopping district, and that weird room we saw before … did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality? I guess what I'm trying to ask is … did those places form because of the people who entered this world?"

"I don't know," said Teddie-san. "It's never happened before … but that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them."

"This world killed them?" said Yu-san.

"The shit that _lives_ in this world killed them," I said. "No offence, Teddie-san, I'm not talking about you. Those Shadows are some nasty motherfuckers."

"I don't know what a 'motherfucker' is, but you're right about the Shadows being nasty," said Teddie-san. "The fog does clear here sometimes. The Shadows get really violent then. I always get so scared. I have to hide when it happens … I sensed people here twice before. But both of them disappeared after the fog lifted …"

"Yeah, they got an all expenses paid trip back to our world," I said. "They even got a nice view."

"Dude, _not_ funny," Yosuke-san said, glaring at me.

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Sorry."

Yosuke-san sighed. "So let's get this straight … Saki-senpai and that announcer lady were thrown in here, and since they couldn't get out, they wandered around … After a while, that Shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, it went berserk, and it ended up killing them … Does that sound right? So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," said Teddie-san. "You were lucky. Sensei, Yasuhide and me were there with you …"

I actually blushed a little bit when he said that. I hadn't really done much of anything, so being acknowledged came as a rather pleasant surprise.

"Dammit …!" said Yosuke-san. "Senpai and that announcer … they were stuck here all alone … no one could save them …"

"Yosuke …" said Teddie-san. "They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No Shadows attacked them. They attacked us, though … Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies …"

"Lovely," I muttered sarcastically.

"It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them!" said Teddie-san. "We might save people!"

That got my attention. And it seemed to get Yosuke-san's and Yu-san's, too.

"Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!?" asked Yosuke-san. "Like how you guys just saved me!?"

"That seems to be the case," said Yu-san.

"And I don't know about you guys, but I think it sounds like a damn good way to get to the bottom of this," I said. "Maybe someone'll be able to tell us who threw them in here if we manage to keep them safe."

"Hey, good point," said Yosuke-san. "We need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop. Yeah … I'm finally starting to understand what's going on."

"U-Um … can I ask something, too …?" said Teddie-san. "If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?"

" _You_ don't even know where you came from!?" said Yosuke-san. "How should we know?"

"Sorry, Teddie-san, we got nothing," I said.

"I know some things," said Teddie-san. "Mostly about this world … But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now …"

"Are you serious …?" asked Yosuke-san. "No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you …"

There were a few brief moments of awkward silence. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Teddie-san; it seemed like any kind of peace he may have once had was being thoroughly destroyed within a remarkably short period of time. Combine that with all the questions about his existence that seemed to be running through his head, and you have the recipe for one hell of a stressed out bear.

"Will you guys … come back here …?" Teddie-san asked tentatively.

"It sounds like we're gonna have to if we want to stop this from happening," I said. I smiled at him, hoping to cheer him up a little. He looked a little forlorn at the moment.

"And we made a promise," Yu-san added. He was smiling, too.

"You'll … keep your word?" Teddie-san's face was breaking into a smile now, as well.

"Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do," said Yosuke-san.

"Oh!" said Teddie-san, apparently having forgotten all about it. "Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in from the same place every time. So we can meet up."

"The TV at Junes …?" said Yu-san.

"Oh, _that'll_ be a sight," I said, sighing. I then put on an overly dramatic voice. " _Excuse me, customers, could you please turn around or leave the store for five minutes? It would be much appreciated._ Yeah, I can see _that_ going down well."

"You _could_ come in from somewhere else," said Teddie-san. "But then you won't end up here. You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be _doooomed_ … Got it!?"

"Yes, sir!" I said, mock saluting. "I'm sure none of us want to be doomed, sir!"

"Well, pretty much," said Yosuke-san. "All right, can you show us the way out?"

"Roger that!" Teddie-san said enthusiastically. "One exit comin' right up!" He walked a little bit away from us, then stomped his foot down on the floor. The stack of box TVs appeared before us once again.

"Cool …" said Yosuke-san. "First we need to make sure there aren't any employees milling around out there …"

"Okay!" Teddie-san said, getting behind us and pushing. "Go, go, go! _Squiiiish_!"

"Oh, for God's sake …" I groaned as I was forced into the box TVs with Yu-san and Yosuke-san. The feeling of floating overtook me, the strange square vortex surrounded us, and before I knew it, we were on the floor of the Junes electronics department once again.

"Ah …!" I looked up and saw that the gasp had come from Chie-san, who was on her knees looking quite massively relieved. I stood up, as did the other two. "Y-You guys came _baaack_ …!"

Wait, was she … crying? No, not quite, but she was pretty damn close from the look of her.

"Huh?" said Yosuke-san. "Chie? Whoa, what's with that face?"

Chie-san stood up from her spot on the floor and hurled the long, wrapped up length of rope at Yosuke-san with enough force that it sent him tumbling back to the ground.

"Ow!" Yosuke-san exclaimed.

"The _nerve_ of you guys!" Chie-san shouted at us. "You are such morons! I can't believe this! You guys suck! The rope got cut off … I had no idea what to do … I was so worried … I mean scared stiff, dammit! I hate all three of you!"

She ran away before any of us could get a word in.

Yosuke-san got up from his spot on the floor, groaning. "I … I think that mighta kinda sorta been our fault," he said.

"What was your first clue?" I said.

"Maybe we did go a little too far …" Yosuke-san completely ignored me. "Let's apologise to her tomorrow. I'm completely wiped out … I'm gonna go home, soak in the shower for a while, and get some sleep. I think … I'm gonna sleep well tonight. Well, see you guys in the morning."

Yosuke-san walked off on his own, whereas I stayed with Yu-san and we walked home together.

* * *

Yu-san and I were walking near the flood plain on the way home, our umbrellas above our heads to protect us from the rain. The walk had been made in silence, both of us keeping our respective thoughts to ourselves. That was probably a good thing. Everything we had discovered today was keeping my mind at work, and thoughts of what I'd seen after leaving the liquor store kept flicking across my mind …

Yu-san stopped suddenly. I stopped, too, and looked at him, about to ask what was wrong. Then I saw what he was looking at and a smirk wormed its way onto my face. Underneath a gazebo and sitting on a bench was Yukiko-san. She was looking as lovely as ever, and she was wearing a light pink kimono. The tinge of pink I saw dusting Yu-san's cheeks as he looked at her told me all I needed to know. I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while, shall I?" I said. The colour of Yu-san's cheeks darkened a little, and I found myself laughing. "It's okay, man, go over and talk to her. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay," said Yu-san. He smiled at me. "See you tomorrow."

He walked off to speak to Yukiko-san, and I continued to walk home, alone with my thoughts.

* * *

I got home, threw a passing greeting at my ka-san and Baiko, and went upstairs to shower. After my shower, I folded up my school uniform and put it in my wardrobe. Then I sat down on my bed, turned on my TV, and began to watch the news.

"Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba," said the announcer. "At around 07:00a.m., local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area. Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms Konishi was the one who discovered that body … police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The coroner's report has established Ms Konishi's time of death at around 01:00a.m. last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area."

 _At least they're not being idiots about this,_ I thought. The police even considering that Mayumi Yamano's death was an accident had been downright idiotic – she was hanging from an _antenna_ on someone's _roof_ for Christ's sake – and it was good to see that they were already considering the possibility that this was a serial killer. _Well, technically you have to kill at least three people to classify as a serial killer._ The urge to slap myself for letting _that_ be the thing I nitpicked in this news report was very strong.

"… Amagi Inn, located upstream of Samegawa River, is the town's oldest historical landmark," I heard the narrator say as I snapped myself out of my own thoughts, realising I'd missed something. "Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs."

Then a reporter took over. "After the incident with Ms Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes."

Yukiko-san was on-screen now. She was still wearing that pink kimono. It didn't look like she knew they were there yet.

"In other words, she's a manager who's _still_ in high school," the reporter continued. "Now that has a nice ring to it … Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!"

 _Is this the same guy who interviewed Konishi-senpai …?_ I wondered, starting to grow a little worried about the questions he might ask.

"Hmm …?" said Yukiko-san, looking toward the camera. "Um … are you speaking to me?"

"We've heard that you're the new manager," said the reporter. "Is it true you're still in high school?"

"Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily …"

"Someday, though … That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have had a lot of male visitors."

 _Or just Yu-san,_ I thought, smirking a little to myself. Joking aside, this guy should probably be fired. The vast majority of the things he said were highly inappropriate to ask someone during a news interview.

"Huh?" Yukiko-san said in response. "No, um …"

The reporter's rambling became more and more inappropriate, so I just turned of the TV. I went over to my desk, turned on my lamp, and carried on reading _The Silence of the Lambs_. I was about halfway through now, and I've got to say, Hannibal Lecter is probably one of the best antagonists I've read in a book. These American authors are really good at creating memorable villains …

Time passed and I carried on reading. The rain continued, too, and eventually it became apparent to me that it was going to last through the night. And then a thought hit me.

 _That means the Midnight Channel will be on …_

I looked up at my clock and saw that it was 23:58p.m. Two minutes to go. Making a decision, I put my book down, turned off the lamp, and focused all my attention on the TV.

When midnight hit, the TV sprung to life with static again, though I didn't freak out like I had the first time. I waited for the figure to appear … the image was a lot blurrier than it had been last time … I could make out black hair … a kimono …

"Yukiko-san …" I said in a whisper.

The image was too blurry to say for sure, but with the combination of the long black hair and the pink kimono I had seen both in person and on TV, I was relatively certain that the person on the Midnight Channel was none other than Yukiko Amagi.

 _Damn,_ I thought. _Chie-san's gonna flip her shit if she's watching this … I can't believe it, why are they suddenly going after people from our school? It makes no sense …_

The image faded. I decided that, seeing as I didn't actually have anyone's numbers, I would talk to them about it in the morning. It would be best if I just tried to get some sleep after the day's events.

As I got into bed and closed my eyes, though, the image of what I had briefly sighted darting around a corner in the Twisted Shopping District kept appearing in my mind. The things I had briefly spotted, clear as day, before disappearing around a corner.

A pair of golden eyes … and they had seen me, too …

* * *

 **Quite an ominous way to end the chapter, eh? Don't worry, you'll find out what's up with that within the next few chapters. As you can see, I used the fight scene from the animé when writing the battle with Yosuke's Shadow, and that's what I'll be doing with pretty much all of them. We have a bit of ship teasing between Yu and Yukiko, aren't I a devious one? And now Yasuhide is nervous about what his own Shadow might come out with when it appears (because let's face it, it's _going_ to appear).**

 **Now, before I go, I'm going to answer some reviews.**

 **DarkLord98:** Actually, it turns out I was mistaken, as one other reviewer pointed out. On a more positive note, I no longer have to make up an Arcana for Yasuhide, so that's a relief. You'll see what his Shadow is like within a few chapters, don't worry, the only problem I'm having at the moment is when it appears. It's going to be at some point during the exploration of Yukiko's Castle, that's all I know so far. Thank you.

 **pyrojack25:** I actually find Kanji's Shadow quite entertaining, but that's just me. Yasuhide's Shadow is … well, you'll have to wait and see.

 **Theboblinator:** Thank you very much. He felt kind of like an odd man out while I was writing this chapter, though … maybe it was a mistake to have him present for this, but oh well, it's done now, and I even managed to use the opportunity to set something up for the plot. Some of what SuperJeenius says is too funny and appropriate to not include, plus it gives him some extra credit. Yes, this guy IS going to start a _Persona 4_ story, and it's all my fault. Mwuahahahahaha! Shameless self advertising for the win! Oh yes, I'm sure we're _all_ looking forward to _those_ chapters. *wink*

 **DCMatriXHunter:** Thank you very much for telling me about that. I did do my research, but apparently in the wrong places. I much appreciate the information, and I'll put it to good use. I'm looking forward to writing Yasuhide's Shadow battle, and I'm glad you appear to be enjoying the story.

 **Da-Awesom-One:** Thank you very much! Here's an update!

 **TJMike:** Thank you. I'm looking forward to writing how he gets along with the rest of the Investigation Team (and, like you said, _especially_ Rise). Rise is my favourite girl from this game. It's fine, do what you need to do. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

 **Well, that's about everything, so I'll see you guys next time!**


	5. Saturday, 16 April 2011

**Well, Constant Readers, I know it's been a few months, but here's chapter 5! And here we have the beginning of the Yukiko-san arc! This is where the story really starts to pick up, and I'm going to have a damn good time writing out this portion. I've made a decision in regards to when Yasuhide's Shadow is going to show up, and thanks to those of you who made suggestions in regards to that (especially the one who helped me in a PM – you know who you are). And while I'll admit that I have been struggling a little with deciding on my character's Persona, I've very recently made a decision, and I hope you guys like it. I think the only reason it was a problem is that I came up with his ultimate Persona first, so I've been trying to make his initial Persona fit that. It all worked out in the end, though. I do have to warn you that they're entities from other series, 'cause most real-life historical/mythological figures are already Personas by this point. _(Edit: Since I wrote this,_ Persona 5 _has been released, and that game made it clear that fictional characters make perfectly reasonable Personas, so I don't need to worry anymore.)_**

 **I'd like to briefly draw your attention to the new cover art. It was drawn by my friend GreenDo, and it's his interpretation of what Yasuhide looks like. Hope you guys like it.**

 **There is a very slight change to this key since the last chapter.**

"Persona!" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **"Persona!"** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **All right, now that that's out of the way, let's begin!**

* * *

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Awakening that morning, I had lost none of the uneasiness I'd felt after watching the Midnight Channel the night before. Not because of the memory of the golden eyes – that was the least of my worries at the moment – but because the person who had appeared on the Midnight Channel had clearly been Yukiko-san. I felt tense, and I knew it was only going to get worse when I told the others, assuming they hadn't already figured it out for themselves. Chie-san would for definite, but I was unsure about Yu-san and Yosuke-san.

 _Well, Yu-san might've recognised her, too,_ I thought. _I doubt I'll see it on his face, but he might get almost as worried as Chie-san._

As my teasing the day before would indicate, I was well aware that Yu-san was fast developing a crush on Yukiko-san, like so many poor saps before him. I would wish him luck, but Yukiko-san had turned down so many others before that holding out hope for him was pretty difficult.

 _You're getting off topic here, Yasuhide,_ I mentally berated myself.

It was true; the real issue was that, if Yu-san, Yosuke-san, and I were right, Yukiko-san could well be inside the TV World by now.

 _Gotta think of a better name for that,_ I thought offhandedly. _'TV World' sounds a little too stupid to take seriously._

But, once again, I was getting off topic.

I got out of bed, stretched, and went to take a shower. As usual, I was up an hour before Baiko was due to be (though he never managed to wake up on time), so there was no chance of my routine being interrupted, which gave me a lot of time to think about things. Namely, what we were going to do about the Yukiko-san situation. I couldn't really think straight about it because my mind was too muddled with my stress, but there was one thing I was sure of in spite of all that: if she had been taken into the TV World, then we were going to have to go in and save her before the fog came back.

I got out of the shower, turned it off, went back into my room, and got my school uniform on. Then I went downstairs, made myself some tea because there was no way coffee would wake me up more than my stress levels already had, and made myself some toast, which I ate rather quickly. I turned the TV on in an effort to clear my head a little and sat there watching _Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood_. I was engrossed in no time, and, temporarily at least, my mind drifted away from all the problems.

"You _watch_ this shit?"

I blinked, shook my head, and turned around. I honestly hadn't even realised Baiko had gotten up, I'd been so pulled into the show. Now that my attention had been pulled away, however, all the stress came pouring back.

"Just turn the fucking channel over if you don't like it," I said, more aggressively than I'd intended, as I got up to make Baiko his breakfast. "Tell me something: do you even _know_ what that is?"

"Yeah, shit," he said, flipping through channels. He glanced over at me. "What's got you all pissy this morning?"

"You being a little shit," I said back. I was normally quite used to Baiko's rude and insensitive nature – though I didn't particularly like it, and I wished he'd get some better friends – but I _really_ wasn't in the mood this morning. "Here's a new version of an old saying that I think you'll find easier to understand: If all your mouth can spew is shit, keep it the fuck shut."

"Go fuck yourself." Baiko's tone was one that suggested he had better things to do than be here, despite the fact that this was his home. "It's no wonder they left, having to put up with all this weird shit from you."

… Baiko had just crossed a _massive_ line. All the stress and nervousness I'd felt before was gone entirely. Now I was _angry_. I wanted to punch him, but I knew that I wouldn't. I didn't do things like that when I was angry. When I was angry, I would normally just go really quiet and try to ride out the anger that was flowing through my head, and that's exactly what I was trying to do now. I made his coffee and his toast, gave them to him, and then went back to sit in the kitchen area.

"Yasu …" I heard Baiko say. I could tell by his tone of voice that he knew he'd crossed a line, but I really wasn't in the mindset to care at this point.

"Piss off," I said.

We didn't speak to each other at all after that. It was even worse than one might think because there was sadness mixed in with my anger. There were other feelings, too, but those I didn't really notice. The main ones were anger and sadness, and they were enough to keep me quiet for quite some time. Eventually, I calmed down. I looked up to see that Baiko had already left, and I hadn't noticed. I looked at the clock; there were still ten minutes until we normally left.

I guess he knew I needed the time to myself. Despite the fact that he had caused it, I felt grateful to him for that much. Baiko wasn't a bad person; he just had a bad attitude problem because he hung out with the wrong people.

When I left the house, I was still in a bad mood, but it was now a mixture of anger over what Baiko had said and the returning feelings of stress over Yukiko-san appearing on the Midnight Channel. The latter was affecting me more.

I left the house at the same time as Yu-san and Nanako-chan, as usual. There was no rain that day, but it was still too cloudy to be called a nice day, and rain had been broadcast for later. Immediately, all I could think about doing was talking to Yu-san about what was on the Midnight Channel, but I knew that doing so with Nanako-chan around wasn't the best idea. I greeted them as we met up outside our houses, and we started walking.

"Where's Bai-oniichan?" Nanako-chan asked.

"He went ahead," I said simply.

"… Did you guys have a fight?" she asked.

I pursed my lips in discomfort. Nanako-chan may have been young, but she could read people like a book. "Yeah …" I said.

Nanako-chan's face formed an angry expression that was more adorable than anything else. "Fighting is bad," she said. "You shouldn't fight with your brother, Yasu-oniichan. Brothers are supposed to be friends! You two should make up soon."

I couldn't help but smile at the innocence Nanako-chan viewed every situation with. It was strangely uplifting. "All right, I'll try," I said.

Nanako-chan nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"So how are you doing this morning?" I asked Yu-san. I think I was hoping for some indication that he had recognised the person on the Midnight Channel so that I wouldn't have to break anything to him.

"I'm doing all right," he said. "But I have a bad feeling about something."

 _Okay, so he doesn't know_ who _it was, but he has a feeling about it,_ I thought. I automatically put together that the "bad feeling" he had was in regards to the Midnight Channel, and that he simply didn't want to talk about it in front of Nanako-chan. _That makes this slightly easier, but not much … I wonder how the others will react …?_

A little while after, Nanako-chan separated from the two of us, and I saw this as my opportunity to start the conversation.

"I think I know who it was on the Midnight Channel last night," I said to Yu-san.

He looked at me, his eyes slightly wide in surprise. "How?" he asked. "The image was too blurry to make out too many details."

"The colour of the hair and what they were wearing," I said. "If you really thought about it, you'd probably have recognised her, too. The black hair, the pink kimono … I think it was Yukiko-san."

Yu-san visibly tensed when the words exited my mouth. He was dead silent for a few moments, thinking. "You might be right …" he said at last. "Yeah … it might have been her … and that kimono did look like hers …"

If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, I would have congratulated myself on my theory of Yu-san having a crush on Yukiko-san being right – this was a little too much tenseness considering he'd only met her a few days ago. The situation at hand, however, called for me to take it a little more seriously. "I'm almost certain," I said. "Come on, man. We saw her on the way home, and on that damn news show. It's the same kimono that the person on the Midnight Channel was wearing."

Yu-san went silent again for a while. "… Okay," he said, nodding. He was still noticeably tense. "I think you're right. We should tell Yosuke-san and Chie-san."

"I would be surprised if Chie-san hasn't figured it out for herself by now," I said. "If anyone could recognise Yukiko-san on that thing, it'd probably be her."

Yu-san nodded in agreement but was silent. We walked in that silence for some time.

After a little while more of walking, the double ring of a bicycle bell reached my ears. "Yo!" said Yosuke-san as he rode up from behind us.

"Good God, you didn't crash this morning …" I said in fake awe. Then a grin formed on my face. "Good morning, Yosuke-san."

"Morning," he said, then his face turned serious. "You guys saw what was on last night, right?"

"We were just talking about it," said Yu-san, still sounding a little tense.

"I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it," said Yosuke-san.

"Actually, I think I have an idea of who it is," I said. "I was just talking to Yu-san about this, and he agrees with me. When I really looked at the person on the TV last night – you know, the long black hair and the pink kimono – it reminded me of what Yukiko-san was wearing when she did that TV interview a couple of hours before."

"You think it was _Yukiko-san_ on there?" He sounded sceptical, but not outright dismissive of the idea.

"I think so, too," said Yu-san. "If not, then all the similarities are just a really big coincidence."

"And I don't think we're that lucky," I said. "I mean, come on! The word 'lucky' is the exact opposite of what we've been these last few days."

"… Okay, okay," said Yosuke-san. "I see where you two are coming from, and it _did_ look like her, so we'll consider it a possibility. For now, though, let's keep looking into it. We should go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie-san can tell us something."

"Yeah, that's an idea," I said, nodding.

"He does seem able to tell if someone's in there with him," said Yu-san.

Yosuke-san's head sank a little, and his expression somehow turned even more serious. "If it turns out Yukiko-san was thrown in, _anyone_ was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims … If someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable." He looked back up at us, his expression set in a determined state. "We need to find the culprit … no matter what it takes!"

I smiled. "That's some pretty inspirational talking there, Yosuke-san," I said.

"Well there's no way the police can do it, is there?" he asked me. "Who'd believe that the murderer kills people by throwing them into a TV?"

"It has to be us," said Yu-san.

Yosuke-san gave a nervous laugh. "Cool," he said. "It's reassuring to hear someone else say it."

"After all the shit that's gone down these last couple days, you can bet your ass we're all in this together," I said. "Knowing what I know now, I don't think I could sit back and let things play out without feeling _really_ shitty about myself."

"I hear you, man," said Yosuke-san. He looked at Yu-san. "You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually _worked_."

"Did you see anything?" Yu-san asked.

"No, I didn't see anything." Yosuke-san shook his head. "But … I think I can do that now because I have the same power … Persona, wasn't it?" Yu-san nodded. "Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case. Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first … I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case."

"Oh, nice to know I'm so appreciated," I muttered.

Yosuke-san started rapidly shaking his head at me. "I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was … you know … He's the one who took us inside the TV that first time. If it weren't for him, we never would've gotten this far."

I thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, I get it," I said. I looked over at Yu-san and smiled. "Can't have a team without a leader, can we?"

Yosuke-san laughed. "Yeah, I think that about sums it up," he said.

Yu-san was smiling, but it looked almost a little nervous now. Maybe everything was springing up a little too fast …? I couldn't blame him for that. I was genuinely surprised that I was handling it as well as I was.

"… Well, guys, let's do our best!" said Yosuke-san. He stuck his hand out face-down.

I immediately saw what he was implying we do, and I stuck my hand on top of his. A moment later, Yu-san stuck his hand on top of mine. In that moment I could feel a spark run through the three of us, though I couldn't tell what that spark was. I could tell, however, that I felt much closer to these two than I had before. I've said it before, but I wasn't much of a social butterfly, and I didn't so much have friends as I did people I occasionally talked to, but … these two _were_ my friends. As that realisation ran through me, I felt a genuinely happy smile tug at the corners of my lips.

 _And it only took two people dying,_ my incredibly sarcastic brain couldn't help but think.

I knew from that moment that I would never give up on trying to solve this murder mystery so long as I had either of these two with me. And as much as the memory of those two golden eyes haunted me, I would gladly face them again if I was with these two.

* * *

I was even more pleased about making it to class on time that day than I usually would have been. _Why?_ you ask? The rain started hammering it down almost as soon as we got into the school building. I counted myself quite lucky that the three of us hadn't been drenched.

Yu-san, Yosuke-san, and I were chatting away idly, awaiting Chie-san's arrival, when the door to the classroom slammed open abruptly and the girl herself walked in. Well, I say _walked_ ; it was more like she was running while trying to make it look like she was walking. She looked around the classroom until she spotted us, then she made her way over. She looked incredibly stressed out, and I thought I knew the reason why. Like I said to Yu-san earlier, if any of us was going to recognise Yukiko-san on the Midnight Channel, it was probably Chie-san.

"Uh … Chie-san!" said Yosuke-san once she'd come over. "Um … about yesterday … We're sorry we worried you …"

"Never mind that," Chie-san said. "Is Yukiko still not here?"

"Actually, we've just been talking about that," said Yosuke-san. "And we think—"

"Oh man …" said Chie-san, cutting Yosuke-san off. She seemed to be talking more to herself than to us. "What should I do …?" She looked at us again. "Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know … All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world."

"Like I said, we were just talking about that," said Yosuke-san. "We think that—"

"The person on TV yesterday …" Chie-san cut him off again. Yosuke-san was starting to look genuinely annoyed. "I think it was Yukiko."

"Chie-san," Yu-san said calmly but firmly, causing her to look at him. "We've talked about it. We think it's Yukiko-san, too."

"You … you do?" Chie-san asked. She sounded even more worried now. Maybe she was hoping we'd disagree …?

"I recognised the kimono both from the interview, and when lover boy here decided to stop and have a chat with her on the way home last night," I said, nudging Yu-san with my arm. It may not have been the time for jokes, but I was trying to ease the tension a little. "The kimono put the thought in my head, but the colour of the hair is what made me sure."

Chie-san nodded, but her panicked expression remained. "I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded …" she said. "I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today … I … I …"

"Calm down," said Yosuke-san in a surprisingly gentle voice for him. "We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?"

"No …" said Chie-san.

From there we explained everything to Chie-san. The Shadows, the Personas, the fact that someone had clearly been throwing people into the TV World knowing full well what would happen to them. We gave her all the information we'd gained the day before, and only really left out the specific details of what had happened.

"What's that supposed to mean …?" asked Chie-san. "Wait, are you saying … Yukiko was _thrown_ in there!?"

"We don't know yet for sure," said Yosuke-san. "We should check to see if she's safe first. Give her another call."

Chie-san got her phone out and dialled in Yukiko-san's number. She held the phone up to her ear, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was extremely worried. I could feel a large amount of tension in the air as the four of us waited to see what would happen …

"No good …" said Chie-san as she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Her voicemail picked up … Sh-She's not answering …"

"Are you serious …?" Yosuke-san asked. "Then is Yukiko-san inside that place …?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," I said. I thought for a moment, then spoke again. "How about this? We go up to the inn after school before we go see Teddie-san, and we just ask if she's there. You know how busy it's been lately, what with the rumours about Mayumi Yamano staying there before she died, and all."

"Y-Yeah!" Chie-san said enthusiastically. "Yasuhide-san's right! She might be doing work at the inn. She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it."

"Yeah, but would she skip school for that?" Yosuke-san asked sceptically.

"I don't think it'd hurt to check," said Yu-san.

"Hey, how about I just give the inn a call?" Chie-san suggested. She got her phone out again. "Um … I've got the number here somewhere …" She dialled in the number and held the phone up to her ear again. "C'mon, Yukiko-san … Pick up …" The wait was tense, just as it was last time, and a couple of seconds into it I even noticed that Yu-san was holding his breath. Chie-san's face lit up suddenly. "Oh, is this Yukiko!? _Thank God, she's there_!" She whispered that last part away from the phone, so only we really heard it. I noticed Yu-san release his breath, looking relieved. That actually made me smile a little. "Uh-huh … Uh-huh, I see … Ah, uh. Nah, it was nothing." She laughed awkwardly. "I'll email you again later …" Chie-san hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. She sighed, relieved. "She was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out."

"Thank God for that," I said. I hadn't realised how worried I truly was until that exact moment. I wasn't exactly friends with Yukiko-san, but she was a nice person, so the situation really made me worry for her safety.

"Yeah …" said Chie-san. "Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too." She looked at Yosuke-san, and her face held that angry glare that was so often on her face. "Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke-san! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine! And you were all, 'Is Yukiko-san inside that place …?' " Chie-san harrumphed and turned away.

"Okay, everyone, let's all just calm down, yeah?" I said. "We weren't just chasing shadows, Chie-san." I mentally laughed to myself at the irony of that statement. "Yosuke-san said all that for a reason."

"Oh yeah …?" Chie-san asked. "What?"

"Well … we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world," said Yosuke-san.

"Mayonaka," I said suddenly. The others looked at me strangely. "You know … midnight. Mayonaka. Calling it the 'TV World' or the 'other world' is gonna get redundant pretty quickly, and I thought Mayonaka would be an appropriate name for it."

There was silence for a few moments. "Yeah, I think it fits," said Yu-san.

"Mayonaka …? Yeah, sounds like it'll work," said Yosuke-san. He looked back to Chie-san. "Anyway, as I was saying, it makes sense, right? People show up on TV because they're _inside_ the TV. But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about. All right, let's meet up at Junes after school."

"Teddie-san should be able to tell us if anyone's been thrown in there," Yu-san said in agreement.

The bell signifying the beginning of the school day rang out after that. I spent the entire day anticipating our trip to Junes, hoping that no one had been taken yet. I was confident that we could rescue them – well, Yu-san and Yosuke-san could, anyway, given their Persona power and all – but I didn't want that to be necessary.

School, as usual, was pretty boring.

* * *

After school, Yu-san, Yosuke-san, Chie-san, and I went directly to the electronics department of Junes. I knew immediately that we were going to have some trouble communicating with Teddie-san, as the store was positively bustling with activity that day. Yu-san and I had spent the time it took us to get from the school to Junes filling Chie-san in on all the events of the day before, having not had time to go too deeply into it earlier.

"O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades," said Yosuke-san, looking slightly red in the face. Despite having accepted that part of him, he still seemed rather embarrassed to have it talked about.

"If I hadn't seen the place first hand … I'd never have believed a story like that," said Chie-san.

"I could barely believe it, and I was _there_ ," I said. "It was pretty trippy. I mean, two Yosukes – the _horror_!"

"Normally I'd say 'screw you,' but considering the circumstances, calling it horror is pretty accurate," said Yosuke-san. "Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside—" He seemed to look around the store in concern.

I found myself doing much the same. There were far too many people here to do it safely.

"How?" asked Chie-san. "By talking to that Teddie guy?"

"Yeah," said Yosuke-san. "Too bad there's so many customers around … I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today …"

"One of us could pretend to rob the joint," I suggested jokingly. "That'd probably get their attention."

"I don't think making jokes is going to help us at the moment, Yasuhide-san," said Yu-san.

I shrugged in response. I was only trying to make everyone a little less stressed out.

"I got it!" Yosuke-san said suddenly. "C'mere a sec." He walked over to the left side of the TV. Yu-san went over with him. "Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance, anyway." He looked at Chie-san and I. "Chie-san, you stand on his other side; Yasuhide, you stand behind him. We'll make a wall to keep him out of view of the customers."

"A wall?" asked Chie-san.

 _Not a bad idea,_ I thought, though I kept my mouth shut to prevent any further bursts of sarcasm.

Chie-san and I took our places near Yu-san. The three of us all stood as close to him as we could without it being uncomfortable so that the view of any passers-by would be as obscured as possible. Once we were all in place, Yu-san stuck his hand into the TV. His arm was surrounded by the black and white vortex again, and I could just picture his disembodied hand sticking out of the TVs through which Teddie-san usually pushed us to get us out. For a few moments nothing happened, then Yu-san quite suddenly yanked his hand out of the TV and held it to his chest.

I looked at his hand to see what was wrong. There was an angry red bite mark across all of his fingers.

"Holy shit, has that bear got _rabies_ or something?" I asked, eyeing the mark on Yu-san's hand that looked like it was quite painful.

"D-Dude, is that a bite mark!?" Chie-san asked, slightly panicked. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine," Yu-san said casually. I detected only a little pain in his tone of voice, so I chose not to question his answer.

"That's good …" said Chie-san. "Sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it …"

"Hence why I asked if the bear has rabies …" I said. I got the feeling that Chie-san wanted to hit me for that, but didn't because of the crowd.

"Hey, you!" Chie-san hissed at the TV. "We know you're in there!"

 _Will that even work if that weird vortex thing isn't there?_ I asked in my mind.

Surprisingly the vortex appeared on its own, though it was now duller, and grey instead of white. _"Ooh ooh, is this a game?"_ Teddie-san's voice asked from the TV. His voice had a sort of echo effect to it, and it was relatively quiet.

 _Apparently, it will._

"No, it's not a game!" Yosuke-san spoke into the vortex. "Can you sense anyone inside there right now?"

 _"Who's 'anyone'?"_ Teddie-san asked. _"I'm a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-ren …"_

I physically felt my eye twitch the second the word "bear-ren" was spoken. _If his neck was thin enough for me to get my hands around it, I'd be throttling the little shit for that pun,_ I thought, gritting my teeth. Puns are good sources of humour if they're good; Teddie-san's, however, was not good, and made me want to commit an act of homicide.

"There was bear-ly any humour in that," I said to him in an attempt to showcase a superior bear pun.

His laughter rang through the vortex. _"Good one!"_ he said.

"Shut it, both of you!" Chie-san said to us threateningly. She focused all of her attention back on the vortex in the TV. "So there's no one inside …? You're sure?"

 _"I-I'm not lying!"_ said Teddie-san. _"My nose is running as good as ever!"_

Chie-san sighed in what I thought was a mixture of relief and confusion. "I'm gonna go warn Yukiko, anyway," she said. "Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still …"

"Yeah …" Yosuke-san said in agreement. "You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?"

"Sure," said Chie-san, "I'll go pick her up at her house."

"Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel," said Yosuke-san. "Cross your fingers that this is all a misunderstanding."

"Oh, my fingers are well and truly crossed," I said. "Anyway, if we're gonna keep each other up to date with this stuff, we'd better get each other's numbers." I pulled out my phone. "I haven't got any of yours, but I get the feeling I'm gonna need them."

"That's a good point," said Yosuke-san, pulling out his own phone. "We should all get each other's numbers so we can keep in contact."

Both Yu-san and Chie-san got their phones out, and the four of us exchanged contact information. The contacts in my phone went from two – my mother and Baiko – to five. I had truly never expected I'd be entering in three new numbers in a row, but the world had been full of surprises recently.

"All right, no one forget to watch it tonight," said Yosuke-san.

"I wouldn't dare," said Yu-san.

We all left after that. I was walking with Yu-san, wondering what I was going to eat that night, when a thought entered my mind. There was one place I got my food from at least once a week, more out of sentiment than anything else, though what they sold was rather nice. My heart felt heavy rather suddenly, and I even found that slightly humorous. Who knew that a sudden craving for tofu could bring on such emotions?

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said to Yu-san before separating from him. "I'm heading to the Shopping District to get something to eat."

"Okay," said Yu-san. "See you tomorrow."

We went our separate ways, and I found myself suddenly alone with my thoughts.

* * *

My feelings as I stared at the outside of the Marukyu Tofu shop were far more complicated than one would expect given the simplicity of the building. It was not the building itself that brought out my emotions, though; it was the memories which it held. A few years before, I would come here on an almost daily basis, but no more. Now my visits were kept to once a week, and it was only really for the food. Well … and to reminisce, but I kept that part of it to myself.

It made me sad to look at the place and realise that all those memories were in the past. So many happy memories that could be thought of, but never repeated. It made me feel rather bitter to think about it.

I shook that out of my head immediately. Sadness and sentimentalism were both fine, but feeling bitter about it felt just plain _wrong_. The memories I had of this place were happy, and while thinking back on them made me sad, bitterness had no place here.

Sighing and berating myself for letting my emotions run wild in my head, I walked forward and went inside the shop. It was a simple shop, filled with shelves that in turn were filled with many different tofu products. There were even a few non-tofu substitutes for people who were allergic to the stuff. That was the kind of consideration not a lot of shops gave their customers.

I picked out a packet of silken tofu with soy sauce and a selection of chopped vegetables, then I went over to the counter, where the old woman who ran the shop was waiting for me, smiling.

"You're a little later in the week than you usually are, Yasu," she said. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"What, and miss out on the delicious food you make?" I asked, mock incredulous. "Don't be ridiculous! Death itself couldn't keep me from coming here."

The old lady laughed heartily. "Forever the joker, aren't you?" she asked. "Every time I forget why I like your visits so much, you come in here and remind me."

"I do my best." I smiled at her. "As for why I didn't come a few days ago, well … you know how hectic things have been recently. The second incident made things at the school a lot worse."

"Ah, yes." The old woman's expression turned sad. "This town used to be so peaceful, and now all this … You know, as much as I miss her, I'm almost glad Rise isn't here at the moment. I'd be constantly worrying about her in all this mess …"

"… Yeah," I said, swallowing a sudden lump in my throat. "… You and me both …"

"… You know, Yasu, as rare as it is that she calls, what with her being so busy and all, she always asks about you when she does. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you sometime."

"… I'd like to," I said. "I really, _really_ would, but life keeps on getting in the way."

That was a lie. I felt awful for lying to this woman, but my true feelings on the matter weren't something I was comfortable saying to another person. The truth was that I was _afraid_ to get into contact with her. I was severely afraid that, after all these years, the both of us would have changed too much for our friendship to be like it used to. There was a fear of something else, too, but under the dominating power of that particular fear, I couldn't identify it even if you'd asked me to.

"Well, I hope you find the time to real soon," said the old lady. "She really misses you, you know."

"And I miss her," I said. I paid for my food and nodded at her, smiling. "Take care of yourself," I said.

"You, too," she said, then I left the shop.

I headed straight home, trying not to think too much on the past.

* * *

After eating the tofu, I headed directly upstairs to my room. I hadn't spoken a word to Baiko since getting in, but, then again, he spent basically all of his available time tucked away in his bedroom playing video games. I didn't have a problem with playing video games – I quite enjoyed it myself, as a matter of fact – but to spend every waking moment of one's time on them seemed more than a little excessive to me.

I decided to try and keep my emotional memories in check by doing some reading rather than watching TV. The hours seemed to fly by as I continued reading _The Silence of the Lambs_ , and by the time I stopped reading to check the time, I had very nearly reached the end. I suspected I would finish it the next day.

When I eventually looked up at the clock, I saw that I had two minutes until the Midnight Channel aired.

 _Lucky I stopped when I did,_ I thought. I put my book away and walked over to the TV, sitting down in front of it so that I could watch.

Midnight came.

The screen came to life in a burst of strange static, as it had all the previous times, but there was something _very_ different about this instance …

It was Yukiko-san. The image was clear as day, with only the bare minimum of fuzziness to obscure it. But she looked different. Not in general appearance – she looked much the same in that regard. What she was wearing, however, was a different matter. It looked like something you'd see in a Disney movie: a princess-style dress that was in varying different shades of pink. The shoulder parts were white, and she had them loosely hanging on her arms in a vaguely provocative manner. There was a red rose attached to the centre of the chest. She wore a pair of dark pink gloves, in which she held a pink microphone. Her lips were glossed with a light pink colour. There seemed to be some kind of brick wall behind her, but I couldn't make it out too well.

"Good evening," she said cheerfully into the microphone. "Tonight, Princess Yukiko-san has a big surprise. I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to not a dream, not a hoax, Princess Yukiko-san's Hunt for Her Prince Charming! And I came prepared!"

She made a show out of pushing her hands into the crotch area of her dress, scrunching up the material. "I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom!" As if to illustrate her point, the camera panned to her chest, and she hunched over slightly to give a good view of her cleavage. It made me blush. I may not have been the romantic sort, but I was still a teenage boy, and I certainly wasn't asexual. I could only imagine how Yu-san was reacting to this …

The camera came to her face again. "I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine! Well, here I go!" The camera's position moved, showing that the stone structure behind her was a castle, which she ran into through a similar red and black vortex to the ones we had seen in Mayonaka.

And then the Midnight Channel cut off.

"… What … the actual … _fuck_ …?" I muttered to myself, wide-eyed.

That … that _couldn't_ have been Yukiko-san, could it? She was acting nothing like herself. That whole thing looked like it had come from a low-budget TV series, and the camera quality made it look like something from the 70s or the 80s. I was having serious trouble stringing together a coherent thought after watching that …

 _I should call one of the others,_ I thought, then immediately got my phone out.

Yu-san was engaged.

So was Yosuke-san. It was fine; they were probably calling each other.

Chie-san was engaged, too. I thought she was probably calling Yukiko-san, the inn, _anyone_ who might know where Yukiko-san was.

I put my phone down when I realised I wasn't going to be calling anyone that night. Watching the Midnight Channel had somehow become an even more abnormal experience, which, considering the past few days, I didn't think was at all possible. And through all this, there was one thing, and one thing alone that I was sure of.

 _If Yukiko-san wasn't in Mayonaka before, she sure as hell is now._

The thought gave me chills, and considering the fact that I wasn't able to contact any of the others, I thought it best that I turned in for the night. Discussing this with the others was the only way we were going to get anywhere. That in mind, I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes.

Sleep didn't come easy.

* * *

 **You have no idea how tempting it was to make a Donald Trump joke when Yosuke-san talked about making a wall. But since this story is set during 2011, I stayed my hand.**

 **Whoa … I didn't think it'd turn out like this, but I actually think this is _shorter_ than the last chapter. I had aimed for this chapter to be longer, so I apologise if the length of it is rather short, but I'm hoping things will pick up a little more next time.**

 **So, we've got a little more insight into Yasuhide and his background here. What did you guys think of that? Some of you might think I'm making things too obvious, but to be honest with you, I wasn't exactly trying to hide it, to begin with. The only reason I don't come out with it all at once is that that's a really sloppy way of writing. Baiko showed off his more dickish side at the beginning of this chapter – I want to make Baiko both likeable and unlikeable at the same time, because I want him to be a nice guy with a bad attitude problem, who just so happens to agree with his friends even if he doesn't know what he's agreeing with. He wants to be accepted by them, and it makes him come off as a dick to some people. More on that when we get to his character arc.**

 **Right, now, before I go, I think I'd better answer some reviews.**

 **TJMike:** Thank you very much. Honestly, I based that scene on how the fight went in the animé; thinking back on it, I kinda wish I'd added in some more lightning attacks, if only for the purpose of excitement. No, Yasuhide isn't going to have his own dungeon – there's no reason for him to be on TV, hence there's no reason Namatame would try to "save" him. Not exactly what I plan to do, but an interesting idea. Thank you again.

 **DCMatriXHunter:** Ah, thank you, I'll go back and fix that at some point; though, as a Guest reviewer pointed out, Izanagi's weapon is actually a glaive. I did in fact create Yasuhide with the intent of dodging clichés such as that, though that means his darkness isn't nearly as dark as other OCs I've seen. I'm hoping I can make the battle interesting – it'll be the first completely original combat scene in the story, so I'm certainly going to try my best.

 **DarkLord98:** Thank you for putting your opinion forth – I've made my decision in regards to that now, so you'll have to wait and see where Yasuhide's Shadow is going to come into play. Oh yeah, I saw it, and it was awesome! You see the _RWBY Volume 4_ Character Short yet? It's really badass.

 **Arc of Carona:** Thanks.

 **pyrojack25:** I think we all feel that way. The thought of real Shadow selves is a pretty nasty thought for us all (though it does result in some pretty badass powers). Yes, I've seen the stuff they've released for _Persona 5_ , and it looks fucking AWESOME! It's all good; I'm a massive _Persona_ fanboy, so I can discuss this stuff for ages.

 **Guest:** Thank you for clearing that up; I'll get to changing it in due time.

 **Guest:** Duly noted.

 **Giratina Zero:** Thank you. Yasuhide is an alternate version of one of the Arcana found in the game, much like The Jester which Adachi represents is an alternate version of The Fool.

 **Sugouxxx:** Here's an update, my good sir, and thank you very much for the support. I tried to avoid the overused clichés when writing this, so while he's not as dark a character as others I've seen, his darker side is much more human and relateable. I can go for OCs paired with anyone, but Rise is admittedly my favourite in this particular game.

 **Jacob Deitz:** The Arcana and Personas have been decided, I'm afraid, but those are some damn good ideas. Thank you for the suggestion.

 **Guest:** Like I said, I never exactly tried to hide it, I just don't want to explain it all at once. They'll come out sooner or later, pretty likely after Rise comes back to town (or maybe even a little earlier than that … XD). Here's an update, my good man!

 **Well, Constant Readers, that's all for this chapter. Until next time!**


	6. Sunday, 17 April 2011 Pt 1

**Welcome back, Constant Readers! Chapter six of _Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?_ is ready and rearing to go! Here's hoping it's a longer chapter than the last two, eh? I'm sure that after the way last chapter ended you all know what this chapter is going to be covering, so I think I'd best just get to it.**

"Persona!" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **Persona!** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Sunday, 17 April 2011 Pt. 1

In waking up that morning, I started to think that I would never wake up with a completely sound mind ever again. There was no doubt about it anymore, Yukiko-san was _definitely_ inside Mayonaka. Part of me was worried about her safety; part of me was scared of the fact that I was going to have to go in again – regardless of whether Yu-san and Yosuke-san thought it would be safe, it wouldn't sit well with my conscience if I didn't help them; part of me was a little excited by the prospect of going back into the strange, mysterious world of Mayonaka; and part of me, a small, childish part, wished I had recorded what I had seen on the Midnight Channel the night before so that I could send it to Yu-san. That childish part of me thought that his reaction would be priceless and amusing to witness.

I sat up in my bed quickly. Normally, given the fact that it was a Sunday, I'd have lain in for about half an hour, but I didn't have the luxury on that day. The first thing I did was reach over to grab my phone, maybe try one more time to contact one of the others. There was no need. I had a text message from Yu-san.

 **Did u see the Midnight Channel? We're gonna meet up at Junes and talk about it 1st thing in the morning.**

That was all it said and all it needed to say. The second I had finished reading it, I was on my feet, looking through my wardrobe for some suitable attire to wear for the day. In the end, I settled on a mostly black long-sleeve T-shirt with some grey on the sleeves and a pair of dark grey joggers.

After that, I practically ran down the stairs and made myself some toast real quick. My kaa-san was out at work, though she wouldn't have her afternoon job on that day. There was no time for tea or coffee if I wanted to be at Junes early. I took the toast out of the toaster and started eating it without buttering it up. I left the house and locked the door on my way out, because Baiko was still asleep, and Kaa-san would've killed me if I'd left the door to the house unlocked while the only occupant of said house was sleeping.

When I got to the end of the path outside my house (which was admittedly not very long) I decided to wait there for a few minutes, just in case Yu-san hadn't left his house yet. I was on the verge of leaving when he came out that front door. He was wearing the same attire he'd had on when I first met him.

"Morning," I said as he reached me, then the two of us started walking together at a fast pace.

"Morning," he said to me. " _Did_ you see it last night? You never answered my text."

"Tried to get through to you and the others, but none of you were answering, so I decided to hit the hay and talk about it this morning," I said. "And to answer your question, yeah, I sure as hell saw it. It didn't make a lick of fucking sense, mind you, but I most definitely saw it. Seeing Yukiko-san act like that certainly came as a surprise."

"Tell me about it."

I looked at Yu-san from the corner of my eye, and I saw that his jaw was clenched somewhat. It was still baffling to me that he could come to care so much for someone this soon after meeting them, but I certainly wasn't going to say that out loud. In any case, it had taken me little more than a few days to decide that I would die for him and Yosuke-san if it came to that, so I was a bit of a mystery to myself at that point.

"You okay?" I felt the need to ask. "You're looking incredibly tense right now, even more so than yesterday."

"… I'm fine," he said. I knew he was lying.

"You're worried." It wasn't a question. I could see it written all over his face.

He went silent for a few moments, like he didn't want to answer. I almost thought he wasn't going to.

"Yes," he said after awhile. "I'm really worried."

"Don't be," I said, smiling. He looked at me with a look that made me wonder if he thought I was joking around again. "We'll solve this, Yu-san. You, me, and Yosuke-san said so yesterday, didn't we? If Yukiko-san is in there, we'll get her out, simple as."

I turned my eyes away from him to make sure I was looking where I was going, but not so quick that I didn't catch the smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, you're right," Yu-san said, and we were silent for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Yu-san and I sat in Junes in the same silence we had been in on the way there. It was only now, sat down at one of the round tables, that I noticed just how sunny it was out when compared to the last few days. That raised my spirits somewhat; I had always really liked warm weather. It seemed somehow wrong that day, though, like the world was happy, even though there was something very real to worry about.

I sighed to myself. Trust me to get philosophical over something as basic as the damned weather.

I tapped my right foot on the ground repeatedly. I took a drink of the tea I had bought when we'd gotten there. I was doing basically anything to get rid of the restlessness I was feeling. It wasn't even _my_ restlessness. You know how, when someone you're with is feeling a certain way, their feelings sometimes work their way into your system, somehow? Yu-san was worried, and that made _me_ worried, and as much as I tried, I just couldn't calm down while he was like that.

When I saw that Yosuke-san had arrived, I silently thanked whatever deity may have been listening that there was someone else there who might break the tension.

He had interesting taste in attire, from the look of him. He wore a pair of brown combat boots on his feet, a pair of dark green pants on his legs, and a white leather jacket over an orange V-necked shirt. The headphones he normally wore around his neck were still there. I wondered if they served any purpose beyond fashion; I'd never seen him actually put them on his ears. He had his hands behind his back, but I didn't bother asking about that … I wish I had, though.

"Sorry for the hold-up," he said when he reached our table. His face broke into a grin. "I found some stuff we can use in the closet at home."

"Is it another golf club?" Yu-san asked, despite the obvious stress.

I laughed. Yosuke-san did, too.

"Even better, my friend, even better," said Yosuke-san. "Take a look at these!"

When Yosuke-san took his hands out from behind his back, I had to do a double take. What he held in his left hand was small enough that I could understand how he'd hidden it, but the one in his right hand was so long that I had to wonder if Yosuke-san had some kind of camouflaging ability we didn't know about. In his left hand was a naginata; in his right hand was a katana.

"We've got our Personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon," he said. "So, which one strikes your fancy?"

"The katana," said Yu-san. He didn't seem like he thought about it at all.

"Ah, you've got discerning taste," said Yosuke-san. "This is a Junes exclusive. The blade's fake, though."

"Yeah, but it _looks_ pretty fucking real," I said, sinking into my seat more than a little. "And honestly, it looks like you're about to try and cut us up. Would you kindly put the two deadly weapons away, please?"

Yosuke-san scoffed. "You worry too much," he said. "As for me … Wait, maybe both would be good, too."

With no warning whatsoever, Yosuke-san started swinging the two swords around in front of him like there was some invisible enemy there. I, for my part, kept from yelling out, though I did sink even lower into my seat, something I didn't think possible by that point. I don't know what was running through Yosuke-san's head to make him think this was a good idea, but he didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.

"Kinda like this!?" he said enthusiastically.

"Please stop …" I said quietly.

"Or like this!?" If anything, he started waving them more erratically. "What about this!?"

"I think we've lost him," said Yu-san.

"I think we're about to lose some _body parts_ ," I said, practically touching the floor now. "Seriously, stop it with that, you crazy basta—"

Just as I thought this situation couldn't get any more stressful, you know who walked into the Junes food court? A police officer. One of the good old boys in blue walked into the Junes food court, probably there for breakfast given the time of day, and the first thing he saw was the three of us, one of which was waving a pair of deadly-looking blades in the air like some kind of lunatic.

"Three suspicious young males found, one armed with multiple weapons," the police officer said into his radio. "Requesting immediate backup."

 _Well, fuck me running …_ I thought. I sat up straight in my chair again, the danger having passed. Apparently, the officer's words had sobered Yosuke-san out of whatever weapon-based insanity he had gone into. Forever the humorous bastard, however, I took the opportunity to let loose some pent-up sarcasm.

"Officer, it's not customary to include the people being assaulted in calls like that, is it?" I asked the officer, who didn't show any signs of responding. He just started walking over. Yu-san and I stood up from our seats.

"Huh …?" said Yosuke-san. "Oh crap, I mean … No … No, no, no, no, this isn't what it looks like. We didn't steal it … Uh, I guess that's not what matters … A-Anyways, we're not doing anything bad! We're just three ordinary kids who like weapons and … Ugh, that doesn't sound right, either …" He started laughing nervously.

"Yosuke-san, can you let one of us do the talking?" I asked. "The hole you're digging us is gonna take us right through the planet's core and out into space."

"Put the weapons down now!" said the cop. "We'll listen to your story at the station. Hands where I can see them, too! I said now!"

I put my hands up to be cooperative. Yosuke-san did something similar, but not in the way I would have liked. Indeed, he held the swords up in front of them and started waving them back and forth. I knew he was only trying to explain what he was doing with them, but he really wasn't helping the situation.

"B-But …" he said, stuttering. "Th-This isn't …"

"Are you threatening an officer of the law!?" the cop asked, his voice slightly shrill and panicked. "Y-You're under arrest!"

Two other police officers arrived at the scene not a moment later. Before the handcuffs went on I smacked my forehead so hard that it could probably have been heard across the solar system.

 _Just you watch,_ I thought as I was shoved into the back of a police car. _This is some kind of omen for how the rest of this investigation is going to go …_

That pessimistic thought in mind, I spent the trip staring out the window of the police cruiser, trying to entertain myself with the scenery.

* * *

Somehow standing outside the interrogation room felt even worse than being in there. It may have just been the disappointed, slightly angry look on Ryotaro-san's face, but something about the situation made me feel small and helpless. It was like being a little kid again.

"… You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this," Ryotaro-san said, his eyes on Yu-san. Then his gaze turned to me. "And I _know_ you're not the type, Yasuhide, so what's the deal here?" He looked across all three of us; we had our heads bowed. "You three know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere. For God's sake … You're lucky I was around, or this would have ended up on your permanent record."

"We're sorry …" said Yosuke-san.

"Sorry, Ry- er, Dojima-sama …" I said (I had to call him that when the other cops were around). There was a strange feeling running through me. Ryotaro-san scolding me like this … felt almost like being scolded by a parent. I didn't quite know how to feel about that. There was some happiness in the feeling, true enough, but there was also a hint of bitterness, too, though I couldn't have told you where that particular feeling came from. The reasons behind a lot of the things I felt didn't come to light for a little while, as a matter of fact.

We'd had our weapons confiscated, which was pretty bad news if we still planned on going into Mayonaka that day. The fact that Yosuke-san had only brought two swords made me think I would have been stuck with the golf club, which would have been fine by me. It wasn't like I had any delusions about being one of the main fighters or anything – Yu-san and Yosuke-san had Personas, I didn't, so I would have been happy with just going along. There was something about the idea of being a tag-along, however, that didn't quite sit right with me.

"Wait, so the one that disappeared was the Amagi girl …?"

The second those words were spoken, my head snapped to the side to see where they had come from. There were two police officers walking past us, chatting. One was in the standard blue uniform, and one was in a grey suit, which made me wonder if he was another detective.

"Seems like it … But she's just a high schooler, you know. Could be that she decided to run away from home."

A sudden flare of panic rushed through my body. Despite my conclusion from earlier – about how if Yukiko-san hadn't been in Mayonaka before, she definitely was now – I was entirely unprepared to hear that confirmed aloud, especially given that my mind had been occupied on the fact that we were arrested for the past half-hour or so.

"Hey …" said Yosuke-san, quietly. "Did he say Amagi …? Then … she really is …"

"Hm?" hummed Ryotaro-san. "Who's what now?"

"Oh, uh, nothing …" Yosuke-san said quickly.

"I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress …" said Ryotaro-san. "We're sensitive about certain things. You're free to go. But this better not happen again. And I'm going to have to tell your mother about this, Yasuhide."

"Yeah, I figured as much," I said, sighing and groaning at the same time.

He nodded and walked past us. The three of us immediately started walking forward, wanting to leave and get some information, but almost as soon as we started walking we ran into Adachi, who was holding a steaming hot cup of coffee in his hand.

"Whoa … Pardon me," he said, startled. His eyes zoned in on Yu-san. "Huh? Aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?"

"Yeah," said Yu-san.

"Oh …!" Yosuke-san said suddenly. "Uh, can we ask you something? It's about Yukiko-san … I mean, Amagi Yukiko of the Amagi Inn … Did something happen to her?"

"Huh? Oh, um … Am I allowed to say …?" Adachi seemed conflicted.

"Probably not, but please do it anyway," I said.

"Well, if you're friends with Amagi-san …" He still sounded slightly nervous, but not as much as before. "Keep this between us, okay?" His voice hushed down to a whisper. "We got a call from Amagi-san's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere. Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Amagi-san around that time." His eyes went wide as our expressions became more and more concerned. "Oh, but that doesn't necessarily mean this is a case just yet! But, people've been turning up dead on foggy days … so we're really sensitive to stuff like this. By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?"

"Uh … hard times …?" asked Yosuke-san.

"Not really," said Yu-san.

 _You'd know,_ I thought. A smirk danced on my mouth, but I remembered that then really wasn't the time, and so I stopped it from forming. Then a more serious thought came to mind. _Why is he telling us all this?_ Sure, I could brush it off as him telling us because he thinks we're Yukiko-san's friends, like he seemed to be doing, but I had to wonder how Adachi got his job if he was willing to give out information so easily. Either he was a really nice guy, or he was really bad at his job. Maybe even both.

"Well, that announcer, Amano Mayumi, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder," said Adachi. "Seems Amano-san had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it caused the manager to collapse. And with Amagi Yukiko being the manager's daughter … she must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know."

 _I think I would feel pretty strongly, too,_ I thought. _But I don't like where this is going …_

"By the way," said Adachi, "did Amagi-san ever hint that she might be leaving the house? 'Cause if not, there's been some theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason or another …"

"Why?" Yu-san asked, though I think we all knew full well what the implication was.

What Adachi was implying really annoyed me. They thought _Yukiko-san_ did all this? Yukiko-san, the girl who was so skinny you'd probably get a paper cut from giving her a hug? (I never did truly change my mind about her misguided thoughts that she'd gained too much weight.) _The police really need to pull their heads out of their asses …_

"… Crap, I think I've gone too far," Adachi said, suddenly panicked. "You guys didn't hear that, okay?"

"Okay," said Yu-san. "Thank you."

"Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!?" yelled Ryotaro-san from somewhere behind us. " _And where's my coffee_!?"

"S-Sorry!" Adachi called over to him. "I got it right here!" He looked at us and brought his voice to a whisper again. "Psst! Forget I said anything! Please!" Then he walked past us and over to where Ryotaro-san had gone.

We walked in silence until we reached the lobby near the doors of the police station, then Yosuke-san turned to Yu-san and me, and the three of us stopped walking.

"Hey …" said Yosuke-san. "Does that detective think that Yukiko-san—"

"There you are!"

When I snapped my head to the side (I'm almost surprised I didn't snap the damn thing off, given how many times I did that) and saw Chie-san, I felt a sudden sense of relief that everyone was together. Yu-san, Yosuke-san, and I immediately went over to her. She was wearing a white top over a black and white striped top, which in turn was over a blue top. Honestly, I still don't know how she could wear all that without being too hot. Over that, she wore a high-collar, light green jacket. She wore a navy jean skirt and a pair of light green boots on her lower half. Around her neck was a purple crystal necklace.

"Sheesh, what're you guys doing!?" she asked us. "I've been looking everywhere!"

"Oh, you know," I said, shrugging. "Getting arrested because Yosuke-san decided bringing deadly weapons out in public and waving them around was a really _fantastic_ idea. The usual stuff, basically."

A hit to my shoulder from Yosuke-san put me back into serious mode.

"Not now, Yasuhide-san," he scolded me. Then he looked to Chie-san. "Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!"

"Huh!?" said Chie-san. "You know already!? I kept calling her cell, but she didn't pick up … So I went to her house, and it turns out Yukiko really did disappear …!"

"I guess we've got no choice but to go now," said Yosuke-san. "But that aside, the cops have been saying some weird stuff. They think Yukiko-san's hiding to 'lay low' … Apparently, Yukiko-san's mother collapsed because that announcer lady bitched her out. They think that gives her a motive, and the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious …"

"What!?" Chie-san cried, clearly quite outraged. "They think _Yukiko_ did it!? What the hell is wrong with them!?"

"Laziness, probably," I said. "The theory itself is stupid and idiotic. You know what this is? It's them trying to close the case quickly rather than putting in any real work. People like to think of the police as protectors of the social order and all that BS, but to them, it's just a job, and like most workers, they want to get it all out of the way as soon as they can so they can go home. The whole thing is just bullshit."

"Yeah," said Yosuke-san. "Yukiko-san's the victim here, damn it, not the suspect …"

"Look," said Yu-san, "we need to save her."

"R-Right!" said Chie-san. "That's the important thing!"

"With the police totally on the wrong track, we've gotta handle it ourselves," said Yosuke-san.

"I'm going, too!" Chie-san declared. "And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what!"

"Are you gonna be all right …?" Yosuke-san asked her. "But man … They just confiscated our weapons. We can't go in empty-handed …"

"We still have a golf club," I said, shrugging. "Not the best weapon in the world, I'll admit, but it's better than nothing."

"Weapons …?" Chie-san asked. "I know just the place!"

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"C'mon, follow me!" Chie-san walked off, the three of us trailing behind her.

"This isn't gonna be some kinda black market weapon trade, is it?" I asked. Then I cursed myself, looked around, and thanked the heavens that none of the cops in there had been listening.

 _Seriously, though,_ I thought. _First Yosuke-san brings out those swords, now Chie-san knows where to grab some weapons … Am I suddenly in the company of future slasher movie villains?_ The image of Yosuke-san with a Jason Voorhees hockey mask and machete, and Chie-san wearing a Freddy Krueger glove came into my mind, and I shuddered at the thought.

We left the station, following behind Chie-san.

* * *

"Oh, thank God, it's only this place," I said, sighing in relief.

Chie-san had taken us to the metalworks in the Shopping District, which was a huge relief since that meant she wasn't taking us anywhere illegal. To be completely honest, though, I had always thought the weapons and armour in that place were fake, or at the very least not as dangerous as they could have been. Looking at the place from an angle other than from outside through the window, however, I saw that all of this was very real.

"Here we are!" said Chie-san.

"Wh-What kinda shop is this …?" Yosuke-san asked, wide-eyed.

"A metalworks … I guess?" said Chie-san. "They sell all sorts of metal crap … like katanas and stuff."

"Doesn't that seem weird to you!?" asked Yosuke-san. "Why would you know about a place like this, anyway?"

"Calm down, Yosuke-san," I said. "I know about it, too. Yeah, okay, I thought all this stuff was fake, but still. And it's actually pretty convenient if you ask me."

"He does have a point," said Yu-san. "And we do need the weapons."

Yosuke-san grumbled a little but seemed to get the point.

"Here, this one looks good," said Chie-san, eyeing up a rather heavy-looking set of armour.

"If you _want_ people to keep an eye on us and wonder what we're doing, then yeah, I'd say go for it," I said, rolling my eyes.

"… Point taken," said Chie-san.

"I dunno, Chie-san …" said Yosuke-san. "I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but—"

"You don't!" Chie-san shouted at him, aggressively. "You don't know shit about how I feel … Yukiko might _die_ from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!"

I didn't get involved in this part of the conversation. I sympathised with Chie-san, I really did, but unlike Yosuke-san, I had no illusions about having any knowledge of how she felt. The only knowledge I had was that there was no way she was willingly going to stay back here while we went in to save Yukiko-san, and since there was no point in arguing with her, I simply didn't.

"Oh, all right," said Yu-san.

"Psh, I'll be fine!" Chie-san said. "My reflexes are second to none!"

"Listen …" Yosuke-san said to her sternly. "I'm not kidding around. You don't know what it's like in there! If you're not gonna listen to our warnings, we're leaving you here! If you insist on coming, just make sure you have something to protect yourself."

"All right …" she said.

"But man, what should we get?" asked Yosuke-san.

"Something one-handed for me," I said, browsing the numerous weapons that were on display. "Like a rapier or something. Or maybe even a machete. Just something I can easily use with one hand, really."

"Hey, Yu-san, mind picking out something for me, too?" Yosuke-san asked. "You're our main asset in battle right now, so I think you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you." He handed Yu-san what looked to be about five thousand yen.

"I got my stuff all picked out!" said Chie-san. "What about you guys?"

"I think I just found a little something," I said, grinning to myself. It was a cutlass with a red handle. It was a pretty basic weapon, nothing fancy or anything, but it was sharp and I could wield it with one hand. It was perfect for the time being. I looked at the price – it cost four thousand yen, which was quite a good deal, all things considered.

"You know …" said Yosuke-san, "if we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again. But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either …"

"Why not conceal them under our uniforms?" Chie-san suggested. "I don't think people would notice."

"Okay … Let's try that." Yosuke-san looked at all of us. "All right, let's split up and get ready. The store'll be crowded until the afternoon sale ends, and if we walk around together, the cops might get suspicious."

"Then I'll see you guys at the Junes food court!" said Chie-san.

She and Yosuke-san left after that.

I picked up the cutlass, brought it over to the man who ran the shop (and, rather impressively, made all of this stuff himself), and got my wallet out. I didn't have a lot of money, and after buying the cutlass I was probably going to only have enough for a small lunch, but I could live with that. I paid for the weapon and did my best to hide it inside my shirt, which wasn't easy, I assure you.

Yu-san seemed to be looking at a katana and a pair of hunting nata.

"See you later," I said to him on my way out.

Immediately after exiting the metalworks, I headed in the direction of the local takoyaki stand. I was in the mood for some seafood.

* * *

I had eaten my lunch relatively quickly and gone home as fast as I could manage. There was no one to ask questions about why I was leaving the house in my school uniform, because Baiko was in his room worsening his gaming addiction, and Mum was watching TV, so she barely even noticed my coming and going. I had to give Chie-san credit; hiding the cutlass under my blazer was a _lot_ easier than hiding it under my shirt.

I went over to Junes, and I was half sure that I had gotten there too early, so I wasn't expecting to see any of the others. As it turned out, though, I had arrived there at the same time as Yosuke-san, as the two of us actually met up as we were going in through the entrance.

"Hey," he said when we noticed each other.

"Hi," I said back. "Is it still a little early?"

"A little, but not much. The sales'll be ending in about twenty minutes, half an hour. Somewhere in that time-frame."

"Oh good, I won't be sitting in the food court on my own for about an hour." I gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Thank God. I think I'd've died of boredom if it came down to that."

Yosuke-san chuckled at me. "And here I thought _I_ was the funny guy in this group," he said, grinning. "Could it be that I have competition for the role of comic relief?"

"Most certainly," I said. "But don't take it too hard. Only someone who severely lacks a sense of humour wouldn't get a kick out of _my_ comedic genius." I smirked and flashed him the peace sign.

"Yeah, the same 'comedic genius' that's had Chie-san hitting you on a practically daily basis."

"To quote words that you have said to me on many occasions: Screw you."

I couldn't stop the laughter as it poured out of my mouth, and Yosuke-san started cracking up, too. We may have our arguments now and again, but Yosuke-san is a good friend to me. He's a guy I can just kick back and laugh with. We didn't know back then, of course, that we would be replaced as the group's main source of comedy by two rather unexpected individuals later on.

We were walking through Junes, heading toward the food court, still chuckling a little after our exchange. That's when the advert came on on a large screen that was playing a bunch of ads for various products.

The upbeat music was rather pleasant, but I paid little attention otherwise. I didn't care to look, either; the ads were mostly the same, regardless of the product. I did catch a white bikini that seemed to have red and blue stripes from the corner of my eye, but I didn't bother to turn my head and look until the voice spoke.

"I'm tired of diets, enough with going to the gym! Good thing there's something even _I_ can handle." It was followed by a small hint of laughter.

I didn't pay attention to the product name – some energy drink with the word "Magic" in the title – but I did snap my head to the side after I recognised the voice. She was a beautiful girl with smooth, pale skin, copper hair that was tied in two pigtails on either side of her head and lovely brown eyes. She was dressed in the aforementioned bikini, which gave a generous view of her chest (which wasn't exactly small, to tell you the truth).

I was mesmerised by her. A feeling of warmth began to build up within me at the sight of her. I couldn't help the fond smile that made itself known upon my face.

"What's that smile about?" Yosuke-san asked me, an eyebrow raised. "A lot of guys smile when they see Risette – hell, _I_ do it, too – but not like that."

"I knew her," I said suddenly. I hadn't meant to say it, but it slipped out. "Before she became an idol, I mean. She used to live in this town."

"Seriously?" he asked me, incredulous. "Risette used to live _here_?"

"I knew her as Rise-chan," I said. I genuinely can't tell you why I told Yosuke-san all this – maybe it was because I was comfortable around him? I'm not sure. If it had been Yu-san I was telling all this too, I wouldn't have been surprised, but the fact that it was Yosuke-san came as quite the surprise. "Kaa-san used to drag me to the tofu shop when I was a kid. I hated the stuff when I was younger, but it grew on me over the years. I love it now. Anyway, Rise-chan's obaa-san runs the tofu shop, so it wasn't a rare occurrence to see Rise-chan while I was in there. And you know how it is at that age; you'll talk to anyone around who seems to be around your age. To tell you the truth, she was probably the only friend I had for years. I don't know if you've noticed, but social situations aren't exactly my forte."

"The inappropriate jokes, the random acts of violence … Nope. Nothing wrong with your social skills at all."

"Shut up." But I was laughing. I found myself smiling fondly again. "I was pretty bummed out when she left. Still, it's good to see that she's doing well for herself."

Yosuke-san just stared at me for a few seconds, then a demonic grin broke out on his face. "You _liked_ her."

The blood in the general area of my face seemed to turn to lava. "N-No!" I said vehemently. I started cackling in uproarious laughter, though even to my own ears the laughter sounded hollow. "What a joke, Yosuke-san! You really are the group's funny guy!"

He looked me in the eyes, his grin still in place, then just shook his head. "Whatever, Yasuhide-san." Then he started walking to the food court again.

I followed behind, but there was a slight delay in my step.

We got to the food court and sat down. Neither of us ordered anything; we were there on business, not to eat. We simply sat there and waited.

Chie-san arrived soon after we sat down. Yu-san arrived shortly after.

"We really stick out …" Yosuke-san said when we were all gathered. "Guess it doesn't help that we're in our school uniforms on a Sunday."

"Or that you have a knife sticking out the back of your blazer," I said.

He tucked the nata back into his uniform, pretending to ignore me. "The sale should end soon, so that'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here. All right, let's get going." He paused, then looked at Chie-san. "Chie-san, it's not too late to—"

"I'm going!" Chie-san snapped.

"I thought you'd have figured out by now how pointless it is to argue with her," I said.

"Y'know, I didn't think of this before, but you're in the same boat she is," said Yosuke-san. "You don't have a Persona, so you're in danger there, too. Maybe you shouldn't come …"

"Just try and fucking stop me," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "I was in there with you guys during the last shit show, remember? Plus, I didn't spend four thousand yen on a cutlass for nothing."

Yosuke-san sighed. "Okay, fair enough. But don't push yourselves, you two, got it?"

Chie-san and I agreed, and then the four of us made our way down to the electronics department. Yosuke-san was right about the sale being over, as there was hardly a soul to be found in there. We had no trouble with entering Mayonaka. One square-shaped vortex later and we were in the familiar surroundings of a foggy TV studio. The fog problem was fixed rather easily by putting on my glasses.

Once I was able to see clearly, I saw that Teddie-san was over in the corner, shaking his head and holding it in his hands.

"Hi, Teddie-san," I said as we approached him.

"Whoa, it really is that bear from last time …" said Chie-san.

"What're you doing?" Yosuke-san asked him.

"Hiding in a corner, it looks like," Yu-san said. Once again, I found myself slightly surprised by his display of dry sarcasm.

"Can't you tell?" Teddie-san asked, his voice sounding downtrodden. "I'm thinking about stuff. I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now. Hey, that wasn't a bad joke." He let out a little giggle.

"Teddie-san, don't take this the wrong way, but I suddenly want to punch you," I said through slightly gritted teeth. That pun was _horrible_.

"It was almost un _bear_ able," said Yu-san, and I suddenly got the urge to punch him, too.

Yosuke-san groaned. "For God's sake, you two …" He mumbled the words out. Then he focused on Teddie-san. "So … did you figure anything out? Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty."

Yosuke-san's head quite suddenly got knocked forward, courtesy of a smack to the back of the head I'd just given him.

"As bad as his pun was, Yosuke-san, there's no need to be rude," I said.

"Thanks, Yasu," said Teddie-san. I was slightly surprised by his sudden use of my nickname, but I shrugged it off. "You're right, though, Yosuke-san. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head."

"Will you guys shut up!?" Chie-san suddenly exclaimed. "Now's not the time for stupid jokes!" I didn't have the presence of mind to tell her we were being fully serious. "Listen … Someone came here yesterday, right?"

Teddie-san's eyes widened. "Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!? What's your name, Miss?"

"M-Miss?" Chie-san seemed like the use of the word had caught her off guard. "Uh … I'm Chie-san. But never mind that! Tell me more about that 'someone'!"

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys," said Teddie-san. "After that, it felt like someone was here."

"Is it Yukiko-san!?" asked Yosuke-san.

"I don't know," said Teddie-san. "I haven't looked." He pointed off in a direction. "The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."

"Over there, huh …?" asked Chie-san. "Is everyone ready?"

"Y-Yeah," said Yosuke-san.

As if taking that as her cue, Chie-san immediately ran off in the direction Teddie-san had pointed.

 _Oh, for fuck sake,_ I couldn't help but think as we all ran after her. As worried as I knew she was, running off ahead was probably the most idiotic thing she ever did.

When we arrived at our destination, there was no mistaking it for anything else. The ground beneath our feet was made of cracked cobblestone. There were stone walls on either side of us, leading to the entrance of the structure that lay ahead, complete with bushes and statues of horses. The building in front of us was a large, intimidating castle. The entrance was the same red and black vortex we had seen at the entrance to the Konishi Liquor Store in the Twisted Shopping District. The thought of how many Shadows must lie within such a structure crossed my mind, and I suddenly had to gulp down a fresh batch of nervousness.

"Y'know, thinking about how many Shadows are in there, I think we know what Yukiko-san's harem is gonna consist of," I said, laughing weakly. I stopped after a moment. "Sorry, now's not the time for jokes, I'm just a little intimidated right now …"

"Y'think this is the place they showed on TV last time?" Chie-san asked.

Yosuke-san turned to Teddie-san. "You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?"

"Program …?" Teddie-san asked, confused. "I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."

" 'From the beginning' …? That's what we don't understand!"

"I dunno … Can you guys explain everything about _your_ world?"

 _Touché, Teddie-san, touché._

"I've never seen this 'program' thingy before. So I don't know."

"Well … is that really what's happening?" asked Chie-san. "Are we really looking into this world?"

"It makes the most sense," I said, placing a hand on my chin in thought. "I mean, we _did_ see the castle …"

"But the first time she appeared on that channel was _before_ she disappeared," Chie-san argued. "Doesn't that seem off?"

I hummed. "Good point."

"I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all!"

" 'Score'?" Teddie-san asked. " 'Stud'?"

"It could've been her Shadow," I said suddenly. The thought had just popped into my head, the way some ideas normally do, and I couldn't not share it. "If you think about it, it makes sense. They may spout off your true feelings and all that stuff, but they don't seem to _act_ like you, do they? Yosuke-san, yours was mean as shit, and while it was right in what it said, it didn't really act much like you, did it?"

"No … no, it didn't," Yosuke-san said. "Y'know something, Yasuhide? I think you might be onto something there."

"There's a lot of stuff I still don't get," said Teddie-san. "But after hearing your story … I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that."

"So … Yukiko is producing that show herself?" asked Chie-san.

"… Maybe it's like the Shadows," said Yu-san. "The other selves people have happen because of the feelings they deny, right? What if the Midnight Channel works the same way?"

"Yeah … that might be it …" I said.

"Hey …" Chie-san said to Teddie-san. "Do you feel Yukiko's presence from inside?"

"I'm pretty sure," said Teddie-san. "So, um, what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing …?"

Chie-san turned to look at the entrance of the castle. Her eyes narrowed on it. "Yukiko's here … I'm going on ahead!" She suddenly ran forward, sprinting for the entrance.

"Hey, wait! Don't go alone!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"Don't be fucking stupid!" I shouted. I was worried about what might happen if she went in there without us. I briefly considered running ahead, too, just to be sure she didn't get into too much trouble, but upon thinking about it, I decided that the safest course of action would be to stay with Yu-san and Yosuke-san.

"Jeez!" said Yosuke-san. "We better follow her!"

Yu-san, Yosuke-san, Teddie-san, and I ran into the castle.

I couldn't help but get the feeling we were being followed …

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter, Constant Readers! What d'you think? Am I an asshole for cutting it off there? Sorry, but I wanted to get into the dungeon and Chie-san's Shadow next time. I will be writing out their climbing of the floors, 'cause I want to make it feel like they're actually progressing rather than just jumping floor to floor, so you can expect there to be quite a lot of action scenes in the future, and not just for boss fights.**

 **Y'know, I'm gonna stop saying the chapters will be longer, 'cause this still wasn't as long as I had wanted, but oh well, I'll come out with another 10K chapter eventually.**

 **I've been thinking about starting to write my _Persona 3_ story now. Not to release it, but so that when I _do_ release it, I can just pump chapters out real quick. Should I do that, or should I keep my focus on this?**

 **Now, before I go, I'm gonna answer me some reviews!**

 **DarkLord98:** Thank you very much. I'm pleased to have gotten to Yukiko-san's Castle, too. Well, as I told you in that PM I sent you, I do plan on including both, and I thank you once again for the suggestions. The character short was awesome. And cool, I'm gonna read that story of yours pretty soon.

 **Arc of Carona:** Thank you.

 **GreenDo:** No problem, Green, you deserve the credit. Thank you very much, I try to keep my grammar in check. Well, it wouldn't be much of a story if Yasuhide were the only character given attention. I'm trying to give him some kind of relationship with all the major characters, as seen with his humorous interactions with Yosuke-san this chapter, as well as telling Yosuke-san something that he hasn't told anyone as of yet. Thank you very much, Green.

 **Jacob Deitz:** I just might; it was a good idea.

 **ExS-DrIfTeR:** Thank you, and here's the next chapter!

 **Well, that's all for now, Constant Readers. I'm off to start editing one of my other stories after this, but worry not! This story shall return in due time. Bye!**


	7. Sunday, 17 April 2011 Pt 2

**Well, Constant Readers, I kind of cheated my own system a little bit to bring you this and next chapter. You see, my original plan was to go and edit all of _The Hyoudou Brothers_ after I posted last chapter, but after finally convincing a friend of mine to watch _High School DxD_ , I had a slight change of heart, instead editing the first, and at the time _only_ , chapter of _A Wielder of Purple Flames_ , and then posting the second chapter. Then, after that, I uploaded a new story for _Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1_ , which is called _A Gamer's Dream … Or Nightmare?_ , and now, since my original system involved updating this, editing one of my existing stories and posting a chapter to show it's not dead, updating this, then releasing one of the new stories that's been in my mind for awhile, then updating this again, I have to update this twice to keep things on track. That ended up working to my advantage, really, 'cause this and next chapter slot together pretty well.**

 **As for this chapter, I feel the need to warn you that it'll be mostly combat as Yu, Yosuke, and Yasuhide fight their way through the first floor of Yukiko's Castle in order to catch up with Chie, then they'll take on Chie's Shadow. If you don't particularly like the combat segments, feel free to just skim them, but I'm still not confident of my ability to write out action scenes, so your feedback would be appreciated.**

"Persona" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **Persona!** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Sunday, 17 April 2011 Pt. 2

The inside of the castle, much like the outside, reminded me quite a lot of an old Disney production. The hall we found ourselves in once we'd gone through the red and black vortex was large, extravagant, and if it weren't for the fact that it had the same strange, unnatural feel to it that the Konishi Liquor Store in the Twisted Shopping District had had, then I might have even mistaken it for the home of actual royalty. The walls were covered in bright blue wallpaper, occasionally switching to red, and there was a long red carpet all along the floor. What wasn't covered by the red carpet had a black and white chessboard pattern. There were large windows on either side of the hall – which _should_ have been impossible, given the only things on the other side of those would have been more castle – that showed nothing but an intense fog that even the special glasses Teddie had made couldn't help us see through. There were pillars built into the walls every now and then that had fancy patterns on them.

Despite how upper class the place looked, it still felt wrong.

And there was no sign of Chie-san when we entered.

I wanted to be angry and irritated with Chie-san's decision to run off on her own, but, to some extent, I could understand it. She wanted to save her friend, for one thing. For another, she had been in Mayonaka before, yes, but she hadn't encountered the Shadows before. We had told her about them, but she hadn't seen them for _herself_ , felt just how … how _unnatural_ those damned things felt to be around. We had told her the Shadows were dangerous, but that was, in a sense, like telling a small child that a pair of scissors is dangerous: they won't believe until they've cut themselves.

"She hasn't gone that far yet," said Teddie-san. I could only assume it was his insanely powerful nose telling him that.

Yosuke-san groaned. "She ran off all alone …"

"Then we'd best get after her," said Yu-san. He held his right hand out in front of him, and the blue card appeared hovering over it. " _Persona_!" One blinding flash of blue light later, and Izanagi was hovering over Yu-san's head.

"Good call," said Yosuke-san. The same kind of blue card appeared in front of him, and he swung one of his dual-wielded nata at it. " _Persona_!" Then Jiraiya was above him.

I think that's when it really hit me just how unsuited to fighting I was compared to those two. Yu-san had both Izanagi and a large, two-handed katana; Yosuke-san had Jiraiya and a pair of dual-wielded nata. I looked down at the cutlass I was holding in my right hand, my only weapon, and began to wonder just how much use I would be when the fighting started.

But, nevertheless, I was determined.

"Shall we go on, then?" I asked, tightening my grip on the cutlass.

"Um, wait a second!" said Teddie-san. "The Shadows have gotten aggravated ever since we came in. They'll probably attack as soon as they find us. Sensei, you and Yosuke should try to get the jump on them before they can attack us!"

"We'll be sure to do that," said Yu-san. "Let's go."

The four of us took off running down the hallway, Teddie-san and I making sure to stay behind Yu-san and Yosuke-san, Teddie-san more-so than myself. Teddie-san was, by his own admittance, basically useless in terms of combat, but I had a weapon and I wanted to help fight.

We had been moving for barely a few seconds when we turned the first corner, to the right. There was an even longer stretch of hallway, though there was a large, red door with gold accents on the left-hand side. We moved forward, and Yu-san turned to the left, Yosuke-san doing the same just after. Yu-san and Yosuke-san pushed the rather large door open, and the four of us stepped inside.

The room was small and square, with the red carpet ending in a large circle at the centre. There was a single Shadow in there, and it wasn't one that I'd seen before.

It looked like some kind of large, flying fish. It looked almost like it was made of black bandages, and in the gaps where the bandages didn't cover anything, I could see that the inside of the thing was nought but the same red and black vortex we'd come through to enter the castle. On its sides were two bright green and blue fins, outlined with gold; there were two of these on its tail, too. It had two small green circles on the sides of its "head" which were also outlined with gold. Where its nose should have been was some kind of bronze bolt shape. Right on the top of where its head should have been was a red masquerade mask. We learned from Teddie-san later on that this was called a Calm Pesce.

"That one's weak to wind attacks!" Teddie-san exclaimed after having a good sniff.

" _Jiraiya_!" Yosuke-san yelled out immediately after.

Jiraiya waved his arms as if striking something, but a bright green gust of wind suddenly appeared from his hands and seemed to almost shoot toward the Calm Pesce. It flinched, cringing in on itself when the wind hit, and burst into black smoke which soon dispersed. It was dead. I briefly saw something fall from the spot where it once was but ignored that for the time being.

"How did you even know he could do that?" I asked Yosuke-san, curious. That was the first time he'd used his Persona, yet he seemed to know its abilities perfectly.

"He told me," he said. He must've seen my surprised look because he explained instantly. "He talks to me, inside my head. I don't think he can talk out loud, but he can talk to _me_."

"Izanagi does, too," said Yu-san.

"Huh …" I said. "Good to know."

And it did make some form of sense. Yosuke-san's Shadow had spoken in order to force Yosuke-san to accept what he could previously not accept about himself, but now that he had accepted it, there would be no reason for his Persona to speak aloud, though that didn't mean it would lose its ability to speak entirely. The fact that the Persona was part of oneself really cemented the fact that them speaking to you inside your head makes perfect sense.

The room had been almost empty other than that Shadow, but there was another thing in there: a small red box, or a chest of sorts.

Yu-san went over to it and opened it up. All of this was done in quite a rush, as you can imagine, the severity of the situation having left none of our minds. Yu-san stuck his hand into the chest and pulled out whatever was inside, which turned out to be seeds of some sort. There seemed to be a unanimous, unconscious agreement to discuss it later.

As we left the room, I quickly leaned down and scooped up whatever had fallen to the floor from where the Shadow had been. I looked at what I now had in my hand as we moved – they were coins.

 _These things drop money?_ I thought in confusion. _How does that make any fucking sense?_

I shook the thought from my mind. It would be better to focus on the task at hand.

The corridor veered off slightly to the right, then the left again after that. Directly in front of us was another set of large double doors, which we immediately pushed through. On the left was another chest, which ended up containing a small ball of some sort. Once again, we would talk about it later. We kept moving. Directly ahead of us there was a door to the right, but there were also three of the strange round Shadows – which we learned later were called Lying Hableries – that Yu-san had fought just before our confrontation with Yosuke-san's Shadow.

Izanagi immediately fired off some lightning at one of them, but the damned thing dodged. Jiraiya also took one of them on. But one of them slipped by the others unnoticed, and I saw that it was heading directly for me.

By all rights, I should have frozen up, but that would have been like something out of an overly cliché story. Instead, I took a breath, as slow and deep as I could afford given the circumstances, and just before it hit me I brought my cutlass across in a side-swing, ducking just before the Shadow hit me.

When I turned back around to find the Shadow looking at me – and I use that term loosely, seeing as I didn't see any eyes on it other than the mask on its back – and I could see the cut I had made across its large "face" sealing shut with some sort of black ooze. It almost seemed to lick its bulbous lips, and I got a strange feeling it was excited; that was just in my head, though, just my imagination trying to humanise the enemy.

I gripped my cutlass tighter and, though my heart was beating like a drum with nerves, I charged forward, hoisting my cutlass up and dragging it down in an overhead swing when I reached the Shadow. This time, instead of simply being cut, it burst into black smoke and vanished entirely. Coins fell out of where its mass once was.

I picked up the money and did a quick count. It was a hundred and forty yen.

I could feel something almost physically click into place within my mind, but what that was I wouldn't figure out until much, much later, so I hardly think it relevant right now.

I turned around to see the last remnants of the one Yosuke-san had been fighting burst into black smoke, which quickly dispersed. Immediately, we took off up the corridor again.

The only way to go was left, and so that's where we went. A little way in that direction there were three more Lying Hableries. This time when Izanagi fired off lightning, it hit two of them at once, and a swift whack from Jiraiya's massive hands made the other one vanish in an instant. Without even really thinking about it, Yu-san, Yosuke-san, and I attacked the two that had been incapacitated by the lightning attack without weapons until they were no more.

Despite the fact that I knew I was very much in danger during these fights, I couldn't stop a strange sense of exhilaration flooding through my body. My heart continued its fast beating, but it was no longer out of nervousness, it was sheer adrenaline. The entire thing … it was starting to _excite_ me.

I also had a moment to reflect that these Shadows were pretty weak creatures. I had taken one on my own without so much as a scratch, and it had only taken me two swings of my cutlass to accomplish. Suddenly the thought crossed my mind that things had been a little too easy so far.

The hallway ended a little way ahead, though there was another door to the left. There was a chest at the end of the hall. In front of that, though, was a Lying Hablerie and a Calm Pesce.

Yu-san and Yosuke-san worked in sync, and I suddenly wondered if they had some sort of telepathic connection I didn't know about. (They didn't, but that's the impression their next actions gave me.) Izanagi fired lightning at the Lying Hablerie and Jiraiya launched some of that strange green wind at the Calm Pesce. Both Shadows were destroyed almost instantly.

"Holy shit …" I said in awe of the insanely fast destruction of the Shadows.

Inside the chest was a strange … thing. That's really the best way I can describe it to you. It was small and round, slightly solid, like some kind of mint. It was glowing white ever so slightly, unnoticeable to anyone who wasn't looking closely.

"That's a Snuff Soul," said Teddie-san. "I don't know what they do, exactly, but I know that's what they're called."

"And how do you know that?" I asked.

Teddie-san shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "It's like how I know it's foggy in your world when the fog clears here. I've never seen your world, so I shouldn't know, but I just do." He shrugged again.

I sighed but let it go. We didn't have time for this.

Behind the door was yet another hallway. We went down it for a while, then came across another door on the left. We went inside and found another small room like the one we'd found near the beginning. There was no chest this time, but there were three Lying Hableries, which charged at us the second we entered the room.

The size of the room meant they were on is in a second or so, and there was no time for either of the two Personas present to launch any of their "magical" attacks. As such, Izanagi was stuck using his glaive and Jiraiya was using his fists. I, on the other hand, didn't wait for the last of the three Shadows to reach me. I went forward and brought the cutlass down in a horizontal slash … which it dodged.

The Shadow got out of the way of the cutlass so easily that I really was frozen in shock for a moment, which was just long enough for it to perform an attack of its own. The feeling of its fat, moist tongue being dragged across my body made me want to vomit, and for a second I thought I was going to. A sudden wave of vertigo came over me, and I was staggering on my feet. It didn't occur to me until later that perhaps the Lying Hableries had some kind of natural sedative in their saliva that could disorient their enemies, if not just straight-up knock them out.

The Shadow looked as if it were about to bite me with its massive teeth, but it never got the chance. Izanagi's glaive suddenly got shoved through it, and it vanished into black smoke.

"You okay?" Yu-san asked me, looking concerned.

"Yeah," I said, a little weakly, but mostly all right. "I'll be fine. It's already starting to wear off." That was true. I was still a little wobbly on my feet, but whatever that Shadow had done to me, it didn't last very long.

Yu-san looked at me, nodded, and then we left the room and continued traversing the corridors. The end of the hallway was a dead end, but there was a chest that contained more of those seed things.

"It's a dead end …" said Yosuke-san. "Where the hell could Chie-san have run to? We've looked all over this place."

We stood silent for a few moments, thinking.

"Oh, we passed by a door awhile back!" Teddie-san said suddenly. "You guys got into a fight just outside. I guess we all forgot about it in the excitement." He gave off a strange little laugh.

We backtracked, and sure enough, we found that door again. We opened it and went through, and found a grey stone staircase leading to the second floor.

"Do these doors just close themselves or something?" I asked. "If Chie-san came through here, it's either that, or she closed the door after herself. And somehow I don't think that's likely."

"The doors don't matter," said Yosuke-san. "We just need to get Chie-san before she gets herself killed in here."

"Let's head on up, then," said Yu-san.

We went up the stairs.

There was a significantly larger set of double doors ahead of us, and I got a strangely ominous feeling from looking at them. I felt as though stepping through those doors would lead to something even more dangerous than anything we had seen so far, and there was a strong voice in the back of my head telling me not to go through.

I didn't plan on listening to it.

"Hmm," Teddie-san hummed. He sniffed the air. "There she is! Chie is in there!" He pointed a paw at the doors.

That was all it took to prompt us into going through.

This room was quite significantly larger than any we had been in so far. It was large and extravagant, with red draperies all over the place and a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood Chie-san, who appeared to be staring up at the ceiling with a blank look on her face.

"Chie-san!" Yosuke-san exclaimed upon seeing her. "Are you all right!?"

She didn't respond.

"Chie-san …?" said Yu-san.

"Come on, Chie-san, snap out of it," I said.

 _"She said that red looks good on me."_

It was Yukiko-san's voice, I realised instantly. "Not this shit again …" I said, looking around the room for the source I knew automatically I would not find. These disembodied voices gave me the shivers.

"Yukiko-san!?" said Yosuke-san, looking around the room.

Yu-san said nothing, but he looked wary.

 _"I hated my name …"_ said Yukiko-san's voice. _"Yukiko … 'Snow' … Snow is cold and it melts quickly … It's transient … worthless … But it's perfect for me … Apart from inheriting the inn,_ I'm _worthless …"_ There was a long pause. _"Still … Chie told me that red looks good on me."_

"Are these … Yukiko-san's inner thoughts?" Yosuke-san asked quietly. "I remember hearing Saki-senpai's, too …"

"It's horrible …" said Yu.

I agreed. The thought that anyone could think themselves completely worthless … It really was a horrible thing to contemplate, and I could only imagine what it would be like for the person thinking it. I suddenly had to swallow a lump that had formed in my throat.

"This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person," said Teddie-san.

"Yukiko …" said Chie-san.

 _"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning … She's bright and strong, and she can do anything … She has everything that I don't … Compared to Chie, I'm … I'm …"_ There was another long pause. _"Chie protects me … She looks after my worthless life … And I … I don't deserve any of it … Chie is so kind …"_

"Yukiko, I … I …" Chie-san seemed to be struggling for words, and her voice was barely audible to my ears.

 **"** **'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke."**

The voice, much like Yukiko-san's disembodied voice, seemed to come from nowhere at all. It sounded like Chie-san but deliberately distorted slightly. Just like the voice of Yosuke-san's Shadow had been.

"W-What …!?" Chie-san exclaimed.

Another Chie-san seemed to almost … _fade_ into existence from literally nowhere. She started off as a barely visible shape standing in front of the door at the end of the room, but as she walked closer she became more defined, and when she became fully visible, she was revealed as looking exactly like Chie-san but with a pair of glowing, golden eyes – Chie-san's Shadow.

"Oh man …" said Yosuke-san. "Is that …!?"

"This situation will be even _more_ confusing if it isn't," I said.

"It's just like what happened with Yosuke!" said Teddie. "She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!"

 **"Are we talking about _that_ Yukiko!?"** asked Shadow Chie. **"She says I'm protecting _her_!? She says she's worthless!" ** Shadow Chie chuckled darkly. **"That's how it should be, right?"**

"W-What are you saying?" asked Chie-san, dumbstruck.

 **"Yukiko's _so_ good looking … _so_ fair-skinned … _so_ feminine … She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy … Man, did I get a charge out of that. Yukiko knows the score. She can't do _anything_ if I'm not around … I'm better than her … Much, _much_ better!"**

"No!" Chie-san yelled. "I have _never_ thought that!"

"W-What're we gonna do?" asked Yosuke-san.

"We need to protect Chie-san," said Yu-san.

"Then let's get the hell in there," I said.

"We need to protect Chie right now!" said Teddie-san.

The four of us ran over, but Chie-san turned around and shouted at us: "N-No, don't come near me! _Don't look at me_!"

"Chie-san, calm down!" said Yosuke-san.

"No … No, this isn't me!"

"W-Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!"

"This could get _really_ bad if you do," I said.

Shadow Chie laughed again. **"That's right.** _ **I'm**_ **the one who can't do anything alone … I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person … I'm pathetic. But Yukiko … She depends on me …"** Another chuckle. **"That's why she's my friend … I'll never loosen my grip on her … She's too important to me."**

"No …" said Chie-san. "That is _not_ how I think of her …"

Shadow Chie laughed yet again. **"So, you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?"** she asked as if the whole thing were some big joke. **"But things are different now. When the time comes …** _ **I'll**_ **be the one left standing. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"**

"Shut up! You're …"

"Chie-san, no!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"… _You're not me_!"

As that dark blue-black aura began to surround and obscure Shadow Chie, she cackled like a complete and utter lunatic. The laughter was deranged and more than a little terrifying. The aura surrounding Shadow Chie suddenly expanded and knocked Chie-san off her feet and onto the floor. And when the aura cleared away, what Shadow Chie had become was horrifying to look at.

The Shadow itself was dressed in what looked like a yellow dominatrix outfit, which was disturbing enough on its own. The face was covered by a yellow, pointed hood which reminded me somewhat of the KKK attire. (I would come to laugh a little at that similarity later on.) From beneath the hood flowed a torrent of long, black hair that reached the floor despite the Shadow's large stature. Four thick strands of the hair had sharp blades on the end. It was holding a whip. The Shadow itself held an impressively tall height, mostly because it was being held up by a miserable looking trio of Chies, each one sitting on the shoulders of another. They were all a strange grey colour, and they wore the normal Yasogami High School girls' uniform rather than Chie-san's custom tracksuit.

"Chie-san!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"Somehow I feel like I'm gonna need to stay out of this one …" I said, my mouth agape in unhidden fear at the sight of Shadow Chie's new form.

"I-It's coming!" said Teddie-san. "You have to use your powers to save Chie!"

"You better believe we will," said Yu-san.

 _ **"** **I am a Shadow of your true inner self!"**_ said Shadow Chie. _**"What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me? Then you're gonna pay the price!"**_

"Yasuhide-san!" Yu-san said, and I turned my attention toward him instantly. "Me and Yosuke-san will fight it, you just focus on keeping Chie-san safe!"

"Right on it!" I said.

It was just as well that I moved when I did. As I darted over to Chie-san, I saw her Shadow start to raise its whip in my peripheral vision, so I picked up the pace and, as soon as I made it to Chie-san, I tackled her to the ground. I felt a hard breeze brush down the hair on the back of my head as the whip only narrowly passed me by. I suddenly got the chills, and my heart was pumping in my chest. I felt a mixture of excitement and fear coursing through my system.

 _ **"** **So you're gonna annoy me, too?"**_ Shadow Chie asked. I risked a glance over my shoulder, and her eyes were narrowed on me. _**"Well, then I'd better teach you a little lesson!"**_

I was prepared to tug Chie-san's shaking form with me as I dodged out of the way, but there was no need. Shadow Chie's whip came toward me, but before it even got close, Izanagi used his glaive to block against it.

"Bear-rific, Sensei!" Teddie-san exclaimed from the sidelines. "You're great!"

As much as I didn't think it was the right time for Teddie-san's hero worship, I didn't have the presence of mind to call him out on it.

The four bladed strands of the Shadow's long hair suddenly started moving, and they shot toward Izanagi, the bladed ends pointed right at him. Before they could hit, however, Jiraiya jumped in the way and blocked them. There was a struggle for a few moments, but the blades broke through Jiraiya's guard and he was flung back, knocking into Izanagi.

Yosuke-san let out a sudden cry of pain and he, too, flew backwards, albeit to a lesser degree.

" _Yosuke-san_!" Yu-san and I shouted at the same time.

Shadow Chie let out a round of deranged laughter. She constricted Jiraiya in her hair like a python with its prey. I saw her gaze flick over to Chie-san, and, as was my job, I put myself in between them. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much if she decided to attack, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

 _ **"** **Are you still there?"**_ the Shadow asked, and I knew instinctively that it was talking to Chie-san. _**"I wish you would just**_ **die** ** _already! I promise to treat Yukiko very well … as my personal_ punching bag _, that is!"_**

"Let her … be …" Chie-san angrily whispered out from behind me.

"Don't let it get to you, Chie-san," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the Shadow. "Don't let it goad you into doing something stupid."

 _ **"You can be quiet!"**_

A strand of her hair, not one of the ones with the blades, shot toward me, and before I could do anything, wrapped around my neck and tightened. With my air supply cut off, I immediately started clutching at my constricted neck and choking. In my attempts to regain air, I fell to my knees.

"Yasuhide-san!" Yosuke-san yelled out, trying to get up from where he had landed on the floor. But he soon found himself in a similar predicament to myself.

 _ **"** **I'm not trying to goad her or trick her,"**_ said the Shadow. _**"These are my true colours! Like it … or NOT!**_ "

She brought her whip up and down so swiftly that I barely saw it until it hit Chie-san in the face.

Chie-san's face suddenly went quite blank. "This is me …?" she asked after a few moments.

 _ **"** **Yes,"**_ said Shadow Chie. _**"Those are the voices of all those feelings you have, the ones you keep bottled up, deep down inside."**_

A few more moments passed, and a look of devastation appeared on Chie-san's face. She brought her hands up to the sides of her face. "No … no …" It was only at this point that it finally clicked in my head that she was hearing, and likely _seeing_ , something we weren't. From the things she was saying and the way her Shadow responded, I thought it a safe bet to think she was hearing all of her innermost feelings spoken out to her. " _NOOOOOOO_!"

"Is this … is this how I … really feel?" Her face turned downward and she closed her eyes. "Oh no …"

"So what if it is true!?" Yosuke-san yelled out suddenly, despite the hair constricting his neck. "Who _cares_!?"

"You're still her friend, aren't you?" Yu-san asked.

"You two barely ever leave each other!" I said. "You do basically _everything_ together! Look at all the time you two have spent together, and _then_ tell me that isn't true friendship!"

"Yukiko …" said Chie-san. "It may be right. But you and me, we'll _always_ be friends." Her face set in a hard expression, and she looked directly at the Shadow. "Listen. You're a part of me, it's true. You're a voice I pretend doesn't exist. You're the pathetic part of me, but … that's still a part of me, isn't that right?"

"That's it," Yosuke-san said with some struggle.

I understood completely. What little air I had left was pretty much gone by this point.

Shadow Chie suddenly released groans of pain, and a similar static effect to that we'd seen on Shadow Yosuke started appearing around her body. _**"Cut the crap!"**_ she said angrily. _**"Are you seriously gonna acknowledge my existence and just**_ **accept** _ **me!?"**_

One of the hair strands with the blades on the end shot at Chie-san, but Izanagi got in the way. It knocked him back, and Yu-san let out a yell of pain as he was knocked back, too.

"Narukami-san!" Chie-san yelled.

"All right, that's it!" Yosuke-san yelled.

"Why don't you … just settle down and take the … hint already, bitch?" I growled out. Breathing was now next to impossible.

And after that remark, her grip only tightened. I saw that she had hoisted Yosuke-san into the air.

 _ **"** **I'm gonna rip you two to pieces!"**_ she shouted at us.

"Yosuke-san!" Chie-san yelled. "Yasuhide-san!"

"Oh no, oh no!" Teddie cried-san. "They're goners!"

"Yosuke-san … Yasuhide-san …" I heard Yu-san say from wherever he had landed.

There were a few moments of silence, and that was the surest I had ever been that I was going to die.

" _Change_!" Yu-san's voice rang out loudly. " _Pyro Jack_!"

I heard the small, explosive sound that accompanied the summoning of a Persona, and then Teddie-san screamed rather loudly.

"No fair …" Yosuke-san said. "This blows … He gets to use _two_ Personas!?"

 _What?_ I thought, shocked. I turned my head, not without effort, and saw that in front of Yu-san there was a small, pumpkin-headed creature holding a brightly lit lantern. "What in the hell …?"

"Take her!" Yu-san yelled at Pyro Jack.

The lantern Pyro Jack was holding lit up even brighter, and a torrent of flames came out of it like it was some kind of flamethrower. The Shadow's hair caught fire, and quite suddenly I could breathe again. There was nothing left of the strand that had been holding me but some ashes on the floor. I took several deep breaths, which my lungs happily thanked me for.

"Yosuke-san!" said Yu-san.

"On it!" said Yosuke-san.

Jiraiya shot off a rather large amount of his green wind at her, which seemed to hurt her quite a lot more than anything else did. At the same time, Pyro Jack aimed his flaming lantern directly at her and shot fire toward her. Her screams as the fire engulfed her were actually rather horrifying.

When the flames cleared, Shadow Chie was in human form again, hovering in the air with a bright blue glow around her.

"It's true," said Chie-san. "You're me."

The bright blue light engulfed Shadow Chie, and when it cleared there was another figure standing there. The head was covered by a large silver helmet that, due to the glass front, looked like some kind of biker helmet. A pair of yellow eyes could be seen through the glass, but the rest of the face was shrouded in darkness. A torrent of black hair exited the back of the helmet and stopped at the waist. The rest of the body was covered in a skin-tight, yellow rubber suit, which showed off the muscles. It wore skirt-like armour in six pieces around its waist. It had matching white gloves and boots. It wielded a double-ended spear of some sort, on which the blades glowed an orangey-yellow colour like the metal was molten hot.

"Tomoe …" Chie-san whispered, and I knew the name of her Persona.

Tomoe glowed blue again, transformed into a card, and went inside of Chie-san.

"I …" said Chie-san. "Um, it's true that part of me feels that way … but you guys were right. I was never lying about being friends with Yukiko!"

"Like we didn't know that already," said Yosuke-san, chuckling.

It looked like Chie-san wanted to laugh, too, but she fell to her knees.

"H-Hey! Chie-san!" Yosuke-san sounded worried.

"I think she's just tired, Yosuke-san," said Yu-san.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired …" said Chie-san. "I'm okay, though."

"You don't look okay at all …" said Yosuke-san.

"Neither did you, if you remember," I said.

"Good point." He looked back at Chie-san. "Still, it looks like you can use the same power we have now."

"Huh …?" said Chie-san.

A strange feeling passed through me. I couldn't tell what it was – it was only there for a second – but I was aware of it. It wasn't a _good_ feeling, that's all I could tell you with any degree of certainty.

"Hey, what should we do?" Yosuke-san asked Yu-san.

"Let's go back," said Yu-san without hesitation. "Chie-san is in no shape to go any further, and we're gonna need everything we have."

"Seconded," I said.

"I agree," said Yosuke-san. "We need to let Chie-san rest."

"I … I never said I needed a break!" said Chie-san, struggling to her feet. "I … can still keep going …"

Teddie-san ran out in front of her and made as if to steady her if she fell. "Don't overdo it!" he said.

"It's not that we don't think you can," said Yosuke-san. "It's just, we have to save Yukiko, no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back."

I shuffled uncomfortably on the balls of my feet. There was that feeling again. It was like … I wasn't supposed to be there, like this was something I just _couldn't_ be a part of. It made no sense to me. I was there, and I had already made a promise, both to my friends and myself, that I would see it all through to the end. Yet that feeling was there all the same, like I was an outsider watching a group I could never be part of …

"That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup," Yosuke-san concluded.

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!?" Chie-san asked, sobbing slightly. "I … I … If those were Yukiko's true feelings … then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me … Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd …"

"Well, you need to get your strength back!" said Teddie-san. "Then you can tell her! Yukiko's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only attack when the fog lifts here."

"So Yukiko-san will be safe until then, right?" asked Yosuke-san.

"I'm positive."

That would certainly have explained how Chie-san had run through the castle without being attacked. The Shadows probably only attacked me because I was with Yu-san and Yosuke-san. That, and I was attacking them myself.

"Why …?" Chie-san asked. "I don't get it …"

"Teddie-san told us that the weather here is the opposite of our own world," Yosuke-san explained. "When it fogs over in our world … that's the day it lifts here, and that's when the Shadows attack their victim. So even if we leave for a while, Yukiko-san won't be in any danger until the fog starts to cover Inaba. I'm sure of it. It was the same way for that announcer and Saki-senpai … Don't you remember how it was foggy in town on the days they died?"

"You mean … they were killed by their other selves?"

"The fog usually appears after it rains. But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain any time soon. Don't worry so much. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back."

"But … but I can't turn back now! We've come so far! Yukiko's still here! She's all alone … she must be so scared!"

"Then you tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!"

"Th-That's …!"

"You don't know what's up ahead. The enemies might be even stronger. If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then!?"

"He makes a good argument, Chie-san," said Yu-san.

"We can't fail, no matter what …" said Yosuke-san. "Am I wrong?"

Chie-san sighed, looking less than happy with the situation. "… All right," she said.

Teddie-san helped her up, and she turned toward me, likely about to head to the door we came through to get up here, which was behind me at this point. She looked like she was about to say something, but she froze in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Yu-san asked her, turning to look where she was looking. He went wide-eyed. So did Yosuke-san. Teddie-san … I couldn't tell, but I assumed so.

"… What?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. "What's the matter with you?"

I turned around to look at the door, and my mouth dropped open, and my eyes went wide.

 **"Hey, buddy,"** said my Shadow.

* * *

 **And holy shit, I got it done! You guys won't know this, but I've been experiencing some internet troubles as of late. It's been running okay for a couple of days now, but while it was down I had some trouble writing this because I needed the playthrough of the game open. It took awhile, but I got it done, and I couldn't be happier!**

 **Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, but I thought it'd be appropriate. I want Yasuhide's Shadow to get its own chapter, but I didn't want to just abruptly cut it off before they'd all turned around, you know? Next chapter might take awhile due to the completely original Shadow battle I'll have to write out, but hopefully it'll be worth it.**

 **Now, before I go, I'm gonna answer the reviews from last time!**

 **Arc of Carona:** Thank you. I know, right? Yosuke has his silly moments. Hope you enjoyed chapter seven!

 **GreenDo:** That it does. It's no problem, really, I'm just giving credit where credit is due. He's one of my favourites, too. It's actually rather nice to know that people are shipping him with people other than who I'm pairing him with; that means people are invested enough in his character to care about that sort of thing. It only took a few jars to get to the weapon, but I'm happy with it. I wanted a one-handed sword other than a rapier, otherwise it would just seem like I'm going for the clichés. Did it? Sweet! A nice reference to the soundtrack there, Green.

 **DarkLord98:** It was all I could come up with. I'll try and be more creative with the weapon in my _Persona 3_ story. I've got a chapter or two noted down, but I haven't really started writing it yet. Thank you very much for the advice you gave in terms of that, by the way. (And sorry I haven't answered that PM yet; as I said in the AN, my internet has been a bitch.)

 **pyrojack25:** Fair enough. Oh, don't worry, I'm not gonna go for that.

 **TJMike:** One-handed swords, yeah. I might consider doing that, it would be a rather cool addition. Yes, his Shadow will be faced next chapter, so look forward to it!

 **Arc of Carona:** At this point, I'm just not sure …

 **Guest:** We're right there, my friend! The moment we've all been waiting for will happen next chapter! Well, I wanted Yasuhide to bond with all the members of the group, not just Yu, so I thought spilling to someone other than Yu was a great way to achieve that. Hope you enjoyed the update!

 **That's all the reviews, so I'll see you guys later!**


	8. My Turn

**I don't want to keep you for too long this time, Constant Readers, and to be completely honest, I don't really have all that much to say, either. So let's just get on with this.**

"Persona" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **Persona!** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

My Turn

Have you ever heard the phrase "my blood froze"? Of course you have, it's one of the most overused lines there is to describe deep fear. I doubt most of the people who use it even know what they're talking about. I found out what it truly meant on that day, and I've only experienced the feeling two or three times in my life. I barely even registered that the others were still there.

Strangely enough, though, I felt a strange sense of confidence mixed in with my fear. I knew how to deal with this situation, and I could have saved us all a lot of trouble by acting right then and there. But I hesitated.

 **"What?"** asked the spitting image of me with golden eyes. **"Got nothing to say?"**

"You are me," I said simply.

My Shadow tipped his head back and laughed heartily. **"Nice try, but I think you know that's not gonna work. It only works if you mean it, or at the very least know what the hell you're _talking_ about."**

I simply stood there, shaking. I'd had a feeling it wasn't going to work, but I thought I may as well try it, anyway.

 **"Fuck my brother,"** my Shadow said, and I suddenly tensed for a reason I didn't fully understand. **"I mean, fuck him _so damn much_. The little shit is rude, obnoxious, and you know what annoys me most? That he was _right_! It's totally my fault that they left. Not that I particularly cared about the second one."**

"That who left?" Yu asked.

"Don't answer that!" I snapped at my Shadow, already more emotional than I thought I was going to be. "Baiko was wrong. He didn't know what he was talking about."

A deep-seated fear ran through me. A fear of what, I couldn't have told you at the time. My Shadow was about to clarify what that was.

 **"Ah, now there you have a point,"** my Shadow conceded. **"He really doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. After all, how could he? Neither me or Mum ever told him everything. Why Rise – she was my best friend, just for those of you who don't know – why she left is pretty common knowledge, but why _Dad_ left … Well, Baiko knows half the story, but he doesn't get the full picture."**

" _Shut up_!" I growled, shaking, and even tearing up a little at what it was saying. Memories I had always tried hard not to recall suddenly started playing through my mind, but not clearly. I still had some resistance in me.

 **"If it weren't for the timing, I'd have been pretty glad that Dad left. Hell, I'd have thrown a fucking _party_! Hey, you guys, can you tell me something? What kind of man hits his wife? A pretty damn shitty one."**

There was a lump in my throat I couldn't get rid of. My ability to speak was non-existent for the time being. All of the others had been stunned in to silence. The memories I was beginning to recall became clearer and clearer in my mind's eye.

 **"Oh yeah, every now and then, if he was in a bad mood, he'd take it out on Mum. But only after Baiko and I had gone to bed. He was a vile bastard, but even he had enough morals not to subject a couple of children to that sort of thing. He was the second one to walk out of my life. I wouldn't have cared if not for the _immensely_ 'coincidental' timing. You see, Dad leaving happened barely a week or two after Rise left. Now, two people I was insanely close to leaving in such a small time-frame … Doesn't exactly take a genius to put two and two together, does it?"**

"Just shut the fuck up …" I said in a mutter. Any and all fight had left me by this point, and despite the fact that I knew I was wrong in doing so, I could feel myself denying every word he said. And he knew it, too, if that manic smirk of his was anything to go by …

 _Is THAT why people constantly want to punch me?_ I certainly wanted to punch him, so the answer was probably "yes."

 **"I bet you're all wondering how I knew if he didn't do it during the day, right?"** He didn't wait for a response. **"Well, I've never been one to go to sleep early, even during my really young years. I _hear_ things. Some nights I hear things I'm really not supposed to. I knew, but I never once said _anything_ to _anyone_ , and you know why? 'Cause I'm a dirty little coward who takes right on after his bastard of a father!"**

" _SHUT UP_!" I found myself bellowing at the top of my lungs. "I am _nothing_ like that bastard! _Nothing_!" The memories, while still there and even clearer, took a back seat to the red hot rage that suddenly coursed through my system.

"Yasuhide, _calm down_!" Yu said, but it was barely even background noise to me by that point.

The grin on that sick reflection of my face widened significantly. **"Shouting's always how it starts,"** he said softly. **"First comes shouting, then comes violence … The insensitive jokes, the lack of social skills, avoiding spending time with my family; hell, even punching Yosuke over there in the stomach … Everything I do is designed to keep people from getting close to me, because I know either I'll hurt them, or they'll hurt me. I look like Dad, and both my mother and my brother know it,** **and it** _ **kills me**_ **to know that they automatically think of him when they look at me** **…** **And if I** _ **look**_ **like him,** **i** **t's only a matter of time before I start** _ **acting**_ **like him, too!"**

" _No_!" I snapped, finally at the end of my fuse, and about to do something _really_ stupid. "That's not who I am! I'm _nothing_ like that! _That's not me_!"

In some deep part of my brain where I was still slightly sane, I think I had hoped that saying _that's_ instead of _you're_ would stop the end result of uttering the phrase from happening. But that's something you need to understand about this story: It's no fairy tale. Things didn't go our way just because we _wanted_ them to. And sometimes, as was happening in this instance, the exact _opposite_ of what we wanted happened.

My Shadow cackled at the top of his lungs as just what I had done truly sank in. **"All that intelligence and mental preparation, and you were** _ **still**_ **stupid enough to say it!"** He laughed some more, the black aura surrounding him beginning to cover his features. **"A dumbass like you** _ **deserves**_ **what's coming next!"**

The black aura surrounded him entirely, and the pit that had been forming in my stomach went so deep I'm surprised it wasn't coming out of my ass. I felt very exhausted all of a sudden, and I fell to my knees so quickly that I can't even remember it happening. Yu and Yosuke, still tired from the last fight, took up positions in front of me. They'd probably had some brief conversation, as became the custom in these situations, but I wasn't in the right mindset to pay attention to what they were saying.

The blackness expanded and cleared, and what I saw in the spot where my doppelgänger once stood looked nothing short of demonic. There was no face. Where the face would have been on any other creature, the Shadow simply had a black mass of nothing. It was humanoid in shape. It was clothed in black robes with silver patterns on the sleeves. The Shadow's fists were _massive_ , big enough to do some serious damage if they were allowed to connect with someone. Despite its facelessness, I could feel it staring right through me.

 _ **"** **I am a Shadow of your true inner self!"**_ it said. _**"Afraid of hurting people, Yasuhide? Come over here and I'll help you … It'll only hurt for a second …"**_

"Don't think so, pal!" Yosuke yelled, summoning Jiraiya. He fired off some of that strange green wind, and while it didn't look like it did much, my Shadow staggered.

The Shadow's faceless head turned in the direction of Yosuke, and suddenly one of its fists burst in to flames. It brought the fist up and made a punch at Yosuke, but seemingly out of nowhere Pyro Jack got in the way and absorbed the flames from my Shadow's hand with his lantern. Pyro Jack took a hit and flew back, and I hurt Yu grunt in pain and exertion, but the attack left them mostly unscathed.

" _Change_!" Yu yelled. " _Apsaras_!"

Pyro Jack became a card again, then the card exploded and became a Persona I hadn't seen before. It looked something like a woman, but I wasn't really focusing at the time, so I couldn't tell you much more than that.

Apsaras put a hand forward, and suddenly there was a bright blue flash in front of my Shadow. Ice appeared to explode out of the blue light, and the Shadow cringed back quite a hefty amount.

 _ **"** **Why do you bother to protect someone who thinks himself capable of such an abhorrent act as hurting someone he cares for!?"**_ the Shadow yelled out. _**"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You only have to**_ **look** ** _at him to know that!"_**

"The fear may be there, but it's completely unfounded!" Yu said. "I haven't known Yasuhide long, but I know for a _fact_ that he wouldn't hurt us!"

 _ **"** **You're deluding yourselves! People who fear their own potential for evil are the ones most**_ **capable** ** _of acting on it! What are you people, masochists!?"_**

Quite suddenly it threw one of its gargantuan fists in my direction, and I didn't have the force of will to dodge. Luckily for me, though, Jiraiya suddenly appeared in front of me and held back the attack.

"Yasuhide …" said Chie. She was next to me, being supported by Teddie. She rested a hand on my shoulder, smiling at me. "You can be one insensitive idiot at times, but you're not a bad guy, especially not as bad as you seem to think you are. You're my _friend_ , Yasuhide, and I know you'd never hurt any of us."

Chie's little speech didn't bring on much of a change, but it certainly got the ball rolling. I found that the weight on my chest had lessened slightly.

"Yasuhide, you _really_ need to snap outta this!" Yosuke yelled from the battle, which was still raging on. "Remember when you told me about Risett— Rise!? Looking at the situation now, that must have taken a hell of a lot of trust on your part, right!? Well, I trust you, too, Yasuhide! I trust you with my life! You're a pal, and I know for a _fact_ that you'll never turn on me!"

That _really_ lessened the feelings of fear and loss that had been raging through me ever since the Shadow had started speaking. To hear that level of trust for me in another person's voice … maybe I didn't have to bottle it all up, after all …

I didn't notice, but my Shadow seemed to weaken somewhat.

Its blank face suddenly had two white eyes that glowed eerily. Without warning, two beams of light shot out of the eyes and directly for Yosuke, who only barely managed to dodge with the help of Jiraiya.

"You've been helping me ever since I got to town, Yasuhide!" Yu shouted. "You made me feel welcome on my first day here, you got me painkillers for my headache, you never _once_ ditched me or even looked like you were thinking about it! I've only known you for a few days, but I know one thing for sure: You're _not_ a bad person!"

I didn't even notice I was crying, but the tears were there, all right. They weren't sadness and fear like before, though; these were tears of joy. Joy that I was surrounded by people who saw the best in me, and saw none of the negativity I saw … _imagined_ in myself. I looked between the lot of them: Yu, Yosuke, Chie – hell, even _Teddie_ – and I felt my strength rise up. Shakily, I got to my feet and looked at my Shadow.

"I do look just like Dad," I said. "Hell, my sense of humour even matches his a little. And I guess because of that I thought I might just _be_ like him one day, too. But that's not really how this goes, is it? In the end it's _my_ choice who I turn out to be, and I choose _not_ to be an asshole. Yeah, I was scared that I was the reason Rise left, and while I was pretty happy when Dad packed his bags, there was still that underlying fear that I was driving people away. Yeah, I heard Dad hitting Mum and even _saw_ it one time, but I was too scared to say anything. I'm scared to tell Baiko that Dad did even worse things than walk out on us …"

I looked directly at my Shadow, which was still locked in combat with Yu and Yosuke's Personas, and I narrowed my eyes at it. I stood strong, never wavering.

"I hated myself for being so afraid of everything. But that fear is a part of me, like it or not. I guess I'll just have to live with it."

A wide smile took over my face when the static started appearing all over my Shadow's intimidating form.

 _ **"You think you can just accept me and that's it, you coward!?"**_ the Shadow asked aggressively, though there was a hint of fear in its tone now. _**"I'll rip your ass apart!"**_

"Not so fast!" said Yosuke, who then got Jiraiya to punch the Shadow in the face.

Apsaras used that ice attack of hers once more, and suddenly the Shadow was consumed in black once again. When it reappeared, floating in the air, surrounded by a light blue aura, I smiled quite genuinely up at myself.

"This is me," I said. "As much as I hate how scared I am most of the time, I can't deny it any more. It's all part of me."

The blue aura around my Shadow expanded, and where my Shadow once was floated my Persona. It was large, as the Shadow had been, but its face looked more like a skull now. It was kept from being intimidating, however, by the large, dark grey beard it had. There was a large, dark crown upon its head. It still had the cloak, but there was armour around the shoulders now, as well as normal-sized hands that were covered by gauntlets. On its feet were armoured boots. In its right hand was a giant, flaming sword.

It vanished, becoming a card, which floated down. I felt a pleasant tingling sensation as it entered my body.

 _ **"** **Greetings, young master Yasuhide,"**_ he said in my mind. _**"I am Gwyn, Lord of Cinder. Command me as you will, for we are one."**_

"Gwyn …" I muttered involuntarily.

"You okay now, man?" Yosuke asked me, huffing and puffing for breath. He and Yu had been in two consecutive fights with powerful Shadows, so it hardly came as a surprise.

"Yeah," I said. I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "I feel pretty stupid now, though. I knew exactly what would happen if I denied it, but I did it anyway … Christ, I'm an idiot …"

"You're not an idiot," said Yu. "The plot wouldn't have advanced properly, otherwise."

"What?"

"What?"

"Sometimes I don't understand a word that comes out of your mouth."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

I sighed in exasperation. Then a smile came across my face. "Thank you," I said, looking around at them. "Rise may be gone … but I couldn't ask for better friends than the ones I've got right here." I glanced at Teddie. "Even you, Ted."

Teddie blushed. "I, er … I wanted to help," he said. "I just didn't quite understand what your Shadow was saying …"

I laughed loudly at that, and everyone chuckled. Since Teddie was on his own in there with Shadows all the time, I was surprised he understood what most of the Shadows said, to be honest. "It's all good. You were with me in spirit."

"Why does the name 'Rise' sound so familiar …?" Chie asked.

I couldn't help the smirk growing across my face. "Risette," I said simply, then began to walk off. It wasn't something I would brag about, because the fact that she was a celebrity now made no difference to how I saw her, but it was still funny to see my friends' reactions to her name being spoken.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it!" Chie paused. "Wait … _what_?"

"I guess Yasuhide's full of surprises …" Yu said.

"Who's Risette?" Teddie asked.

I was laughing again. I could hear Yosuke laughing, too. I was more than a little wobbly on my feet, true enough, but there was a slight spring to my step all the same. Now that I had finally acknowledged my fears, I could set out to conquer them. That, above most other things, was something I was determined to do.

And I could already tell it was going to be a hell of a wild ride!

* * *

Arriving back at the entrance area of Mayonaka, I felt like absolute crap, but mostly I thought I was just tired. Chie looked a lot worse than I did. It might have been the fact that I'd been in there more than she had, but I had no way of knowing for sure.

Chie groaned. "I … I'm feeling even worse than the last time I came in here …" she said. "My head feels like it's gonna split open … Are you guys okay?"

"It's thanks to these," Yu said, motioning to his glasses.

"That's right," said Yosuke, "you're not wearing the glasses."

"Oh yeah …" said Chie. "What's with those glasses? Did your eyesight go bad?"

"Oh yes, all three of us spontaneously lost our eyesight," I said. Then I thought about it for a moment. "Actually, considering all the crazy stuff that's been going on recently, that would probably be a pretty normal occurrence in comparison. Anyway, no, the glasses are just to help us see through the fog, Chie." _Though it's useful to know they also apparently stop headaches,_ I added in my mind. _I wonder if I could use them as a substitute for aspirin?_

"You didn't even notice the glasses until now?" Yosuke asked her. "How panicked _were_ you?"

"Tum de dummm!" Teddie exclaimed. He held another pair of the glasses in the air. "I got a pair ready for Chie, too! Here you go!"

He handed them to Chie, and she put them on. The look of astonishment her face morphed into was, admittedly, a rather amusing spectacle.

"Whoa!" she said in amazement. "What the—!? This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!"

"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" Yosuke asked Teddie in annoyance.

"I made them right now!" said Teddie. "You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!"

"Huh … so that's the trick," said Chie. "I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going. Hey, is it all right if I keep these?" she asked Teddie.

"Fo' sho!" said Teddie, smiling widely.

I laughed a little.

"We'll have to stop here today …" said Chie. "But I'll be back with these puppies! You guys better not come here without me, got it!?"

"After what happened today?" I said, grinning. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Yeah, let's all promise each other …" said Yosuke. "Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous. If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve this case or save Yukiko … right?"

I thought that was obvious. After seeing everything we'd seen inside Mayonaka already, any one of us would have to have been mad to go in alone. Plus, from what I had seen, even Yu, with his multiple Personas and lack of a Shadow self, wouldn't be able to fight against the stronger Shadows unless he had some backup.

"You're right," said Yu.

"Yep, you're right," I said.

"Yeah, I agree," said Chie. "I promise, too."

"Let's save Yukiko!" Yu said with conviction.

"What else are we in here to do?" I asked. "Take a vacation?"

"All right, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school …" said Yosuke. "And that includes days off." He looked directly into Yu's eyes. "Hey … would you mind being our leader?"

Yu's eyes widened a fraction. "Do I have to?" he asked. I couldn't tell whether or not he was joking.

"You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than any of us. I don't know if Yasuhide was being serious when he said it yesterday, but he was right: you're the most qualified out of all of us. I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana."

Yu was silent for a moment, then he nodded. "Leave it to me," he said.

 _Knew it,_ I thought.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," said Yosuke. "I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know? An ideas man, not an executive."

"I'm about the last person you want leading and organising a group of people," I said. "I would end up joking about the objective rather than actually working towards it, and I'd just end up insulting people in diplomatic situations."

"I'm with these two," said Chie. "If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel much more comfortable about this."

"I'm with them, too," said Teddie. "If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night."

 _He has a pillow?_

"Teddie, would you please stop talking?" asked Chie. "I'm really on edge right now …"

I don't know if the others felt it or not (I've always assumed yes), but I felt a spark of some sort pass between the lot of us in that moment. I had become closer to all four of the people (well, three people and one bear) I was standing with, and it was a great feeling. It had been a long time since I'd felt that level of friendship with anyone.

"Okay," said Yosuke. "Let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on. And don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out. Also, let's make sure we're geared up for next time."

Despite the fact that everyone but Chie and Teddie were pretty geared up already, we all agreed. Then we left Mayonaka for the day.

* * *

Walking home was a strange process. It was perfectly normal by all accounts, except for Chie's short-lived amazement that I had been friends with quite possibly the most popular idol in Japan. (Which didn't matter to me, of course; she would always be the girl I used to hang out with in the tofu shop.) We had been in Mayonaka for a couple of hours at most, yet everything seemed … different, somehow. It may have just been the change I had gone through personally, but I found myself looking at everything differently to the way I did before.

My own home was a prime example of this.

It was no longer the place to avoid until late at night. It was … safe. It was safe, it was comforting, it was friendly. Had some things happened in there that I would rather not think about? Yes. But that didn't make it any less my home. And now, after everything that had just happened, I felt an idiot for not seeing so before.

"You okay?" Yu asked from beside me. We'd split off from the other two awhile back, and now we were standing in front of our houses. Yu looked like he was about to head inside.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "It's just … everything's different, but it's the same. I know that sounds weird – hell, it sounds _stupid_ to say it out loud – but that's the feeling I'm getting. I just feel like … like everything's gonna be okay now." I tore my eyes away from my house and looked Yu in the eyes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," said Yu. He smiled at me, then went inside.

I looked at my own house for a moment, almost transfixed in a sense, then went in.

Feelings of comfort that had always been there but I had never noticed before filled me the second I entered the house. I don't think I could've wiped that smile off my face if I'd tried.

"Yasuhide, come in here," Mum called to me from the living room.

I stiffened up a little. Mum only ever calls me anything other than "Yasu" when I'm in trouble. I walked tentatively into the living room, not at all looking forward to the level of scolding that only a mother can manage. She was on the sofa, watching the TV. It was muted, so whatever she was about to say, it was serious. I walked over and sat down next to her without question.

"Ryo tells me that he had to take you, his nephew, and one of your friends down to the station today," she said. She looked at me with a scrutinising gaze, and I shrank back in to myself on instinct. "He says you three had swords. Care to explain?"

Admittedly, it took me a few seconds to remember what she was talking about. So much had happened that day that the incident with the swords in Junes felt like it had happened in another time entirely.

"We, er …" I hesitated, wondering whether or not I should mention that it was only Yosuke who had the swords. I decided against it. Ratting out a friend was not something that I thought I should do after what had happened that day. "We were just fooling around, Mum. The swords weren't even real. Anyway, it won't happen again."

"It better not." She sighed. "I appreciate that you teenagers do a lot of strange things for fun when you're together. Just … just try to avoid antagonising the police while you're doing them. Especially with things as they are now."

"I promise."

She seemed at least relatively satisfied with that. She picked up the remote for the TV and took it off mute. It was some kind of talk show.

I sat quietly for a few moments, but I got a lot of thinking done in that time. I had spent the last few years avoiding my family in any way that I could, and on that day it had come to my attention how unhealthy that was, especially considering the reasons why. And after facing my Shadow earlier in the day, some casual interaction with my own mother couldn't hurt too much, could it? That's the logic I arrived at, but it still wasn't easy to start speaking again.

"How's your day been?" I asked. "How was work?"

The expression she wore when she looked at me again was filled with surprise. "… My day's been fine," she said. "It's a Sunday, so there was a lot of cleaning to do in the pub, but other than that work was all right. Is something the matter? You're not normally one for small talk."

"… Let's just say I've gone through a pretty big change." A thought occurred to me, and I stood up in a hurry. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got something to do. I'll see you at dinner if I don't see you before."

"You'll be joining us for dinner?" Her eyes were almost comically wide.

I grinned. "Big change."

I went upstairs and to my room. I heard the sounds of Baiko swearing as he played some video game when I passed by his room, but I would talk to him later. For the time being, I had something to do that, to me, was much more important than attempted family bonding. My heart was pounding away in my chest, and somehow I found myself feeling even more nervous than I had felt before facing down my Shadow.

I was about to write to Rise for the first time since she'd left, all those years ago.

I went into my room and closed the door. I walked over to my desk, sat down, picked up a pen, and pulled up my pad of paper. For awhile I simply sat, staring at it, willing the words to enter my mind. After all that time, I doubted anything I could write would be adequate, but I was damn well going to try. After a few more seconds of pointless thought, I decided I'd just wing it. It was the best I could do.

Even when winging it, it wasn't exactly a fast process. When I was finally finished, the letter read:

 _Dear Rise,_

 _I don't even know how to start writing this other than with an apology. I'm so, so, so, so sorry for not contacting you after you left. No words of apology I can write, or even say, will feel like enough in my mind. Something happened very shortly after you left that left me in a state of mind that's difficult to describe with any words other than "afraid." The long and short of it in terms of how it concerns you is that I was afraid you wouldn't want to hear from me. I would explain further, but the reason for this isn't something I feel I can adequately describe to you in a letter. I'll explain it to you in detail if we ever meet again. (Which I REALLY hope we do.)_

 _I miss you. I've tried to think of better ways of saying it, but that's really the best way I can. I miss you. You have no idea how much I miss you. I've missed you since the moment you left. There are so many things I want to tell you, but I think it'll take up all of my paper and then some to tell it all in detail. As I sit here writing this, a million things are rushing through my head, and I want to talk about all of them, but I'm afraid (there's that word again) it would be unrealistic to hope that I could cover the lot in this one letter._

 _That being said, do you have an email address I could reach you at? A private one, I mean. I always assumed the official one that's given out is run by your manager, or someone of that nature. It would be nice to be able to talk to you in a more direct format._

 _As I've said, I miss you, and I think I'll go on missing you until the day I see you again. I hope you can forgive me for waiting all this time to get in contact with you. If not, then I understand, and I at least hope we can remain friends._

 _With love,_

 _Yasuhide_

It was only after I had signed my name that I realised what I had written above it. I found myself blushing heavily despite the fact that I was the only one in the room, and it was worse because I knew, deep down, that what I had written was the truth. It wasn't like I could erase it, either; I was using a pen.

Doing my best to control the blood in my face, I exited my bedroom and went downstairs. I dug out an envelope from one of the cupboards in the kitchen and went back upstairs to put the letter in it. The address I wrote on it was not somewhere Rise was staying, as she moved around so much that it was near impossible for anything to get to her before she had moved on again. The address was one that was given on her website, which was apparently the office of her manager, who would forward any letters she received to the next place she would be staying. I only hoped she was allowed a laptop or a computer or something in the places she was staying, otherwise the idea of communicating via email was going to fall flat rather fast.

After everything was in order, I set about leaving the house again. I didn't even get all the way to the door before Mum spoke up.

"Where are you off to now?"

I looked over at her, held the letter up, and smiled. "I'm mailing a letter I should've sent a damn long time ago," I said.

It took less than a second for realisation to make itself known on her face. "You're writing to Rise?"

I nodded.

She smiled widely. "It's about time. Whatever this big change that you're going through is, it seems to be doing you some good, Yasu."

"Yeah, I think so, too."

I left the house and went to mail the letter. I had a smile on my face the entire time. It was honestly the best mood I had been in for years.

* * *

When the time for dinner arrived, I found myself feeling both happy and nervous at the same time. I'd had dinner with Mum and Baiko after the first body was found, true, but the atmosphere wasn't one that allowed much in the way of conversation. I was going to be spending real, quality time with the two of them that night, and I was looking forward to it immensely. My stomach was aflutter with butterflies, but that was mostly the result of having posted the letter I'd written to Rise. I hoped she'd reply – her grandmother had told me she wanted to hear from me – but I couldn't help but think I was too late, that I had put this off for far too long.

I forced the thoughts from my mind. This was family time, and worries over the state of my friendship with Rise could come later.

I exited my bedroom, already decked out in a set of grey pyjamas. That was something very few people understood about me, for some reason. If I didn't have any plans to go anywhere, I would change into my pyjamas. It made perfect sense to me.

As it happened, I left my room at the same moment Baiko was leaving his. (Get used to coincidences like that, people.) The air turned awkward immediately, and for a moment or two we both just stood there.

"Yasu, listen, I—"

"Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder before, Baiko," I said, cutting him off. "I know you didn't mean what you said, and that sometimes you just say whatever happens to come to mind first. Hell, I do that myself a lot of the time. I overreacted, and I'm sorry."

Baiko blinked owlishly at me for a moment. Then, much to my surprise, he started laughing. " _You_ overreacted?" he asked through his laughter. " _You_? Yasu, if _either_ of us overreacted, it was me. I mean, I was giving you shit over a TV show, for crying out loud! I haven't even seen it! I just acted like that 'cause my boys were talking shit about animé the other day, and I guess I kinda let the mood stick to me." He laughed again, this time more awkwardly.

 _Of course they were involved,_ I thought, but kept my mouth shut. That was one thing that hadn't changed. I didn't have the highest opinion of the people Baiko spent time with, but I sure as hell wasn't going to say that to his face, at least not yet. I was only just starting to spend time with my family again; I didn't want to instantly antagonise one of them.

"But either way …" Baiko said, snapping me from my thoughts, "… I'm … I'm sorry for bringing up what I brought up. Dragging Dad and Rise in to the argument was a dick move. I shouldn't have done it, and I'm sorry."

"It's no problem, Baiko," I said. "Water under the bridge, over the dam, all is forgiven, and all that shit."

We both had a good laugh. After we finished laughing, we naturally brought each other into a hug … for precisely five seconds. Once we'd separated, we each wiped ourselves down awkwardly.

"No homo, though," Baiko said, and we were both laughing again.

Needless to say, Mum was very confused when we finally got to the dinner table.

After dinner, I went upstairs and watched the news. It was going to be sunny for a little while more. I went to bed relieved that Yukiko's life wouldn't be in danger for some time to come, yet.

* * *

 **And there it is! Honestly, in trying to avoid the usual clichés of _Persona_ stories, I think I made the Shadow confrontation a little anticlimactic, but it'll have to do. Yasuhide's father being the abusive husband type was something that only occurred to me while writing out this chapter, and it added the extra layer of darkness I felt the scene needed in order to hit as hard as I wanted it to. Tell me what you think, Constant Readers, I greatly value your opinions on my work.**

 **The battle against Yasuhide's Shadow wasn't exactly great, was it? Fight scenes have never exactly been my forte, and that was no different. In my head it's just because Yasuhide was paying very little attention to the fight itself, and was more busy trying to deny everything his Shadow was saying.**

 **Yes, Yasuhide's Persona is Gwyn from _Dark Souls_. I don't really like using a figure from another franchise, but it was the best I could come up with. I have an original Persona planned out for the OC of my _Persona 3_ story, if that's any consolation.**

 **So, Yasuhide has written a letter to Rise. How will she respond? Even I don't know fully. Even when I outline a story to the very last detail, I'm quite often unsure of how things are going to go. I'm a great believer in going with the flow; if an idea comes to me that wasn't in my original plans, I'll probably use it anyway. I always thought I might have Yasuhide and Rise communicate before she's introduced in the story, I just didn't know when until I wrote this chapter.**

 **Now, before I go, I'm going to respond to some reviews!**

 **DarkLord98:** Thank you. I just had to leave it on a cliffhanger; I couldn't resist. Fair enough. I have voted on your poll, my friend.

 **Arc of Carona:** Thank you. Chie's Shadow battle was based on the animé, yes, but the battles while making way through Yukiko's Castle were all my own work. XD Indeed.

 **pyrojack25:** I gathered, but I didn't really know how else to respond. Oh yeah, it was a very long day, but they all came out better in the end.

 **Jacob Deitz:** God fucking damn it! (I apologies for the profanity, but that's my general reaction to that piece of news.)

 **Justsomerealguy:** Well, he tried, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Though I did manage to get a fourth wall break out of it, which is always amusing, at least in my opinion. It probably would've been funny, but it would have been even more anticlimactic than the fight itself, so I didn't feel I could do it.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

 **foxchick1:** I look forward to hearing what you thought of Yasuhide's confrontation with his Shadow.

 **That's that, Constant Readers. Now, you probably won't see another update for this story for a couple of months, and for that I apologise. I'm going to be spending the next couple of months editing _The Hyoudou Brothers_ , but that doesn't mean I won't be writing for this at all. I won't release another chapter until I've finished my editing process, but I'm thinking about taking the opportunity to pre-write a few chapters so that I don't have to worry about deadlines when it comes to writing this again.**

 **Give me your thoughts, Constant Readers, they're much appreciated. See you next time!**


	9. Making Jokes and Playing Sports

"Persona" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **Persona!** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"** **Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Making Jokes and Playing Sports

 _Monday, 18th of April, 2011_

"Yu, I honestly think getting a call telling me 'seven days' after I've watched some freaky-ass VHS tape would scare me less than that shit."

Yu, Baiko, and I walked to school together that morning. Yu and I couldn't talk about anything that happened in Mayonaka, obviously, so we kept it to small talk for the time being. The statement above is what I said when Yu told Baiko and I that Morooka had called him at home late last night. It was bad enough that I had to sit in a classroom with him for most of the day, I think hearing his voice over the phone _after_ school would probably lead to me skipping town. About the only positive aspect of what Yu had just told us was the fact that it was impossible to smell rancid breath over the phone.

"So, what did King Moron want?" asked Baiko.

"He wanted to give me my school jersey," said Yu.

"Couldn't he have just done that in school this morning?" I asked.

"See, Uncle Dojima said exactly the same thing," said Yu, sighing. "I don't know why he had to give it to me last night. Maybe he's a vampire?"

I snorted. "Yeah, like we'd be lucky enough for him to burn to death when in contact with sunlight!"

"Maybe he was out stalking the local girls," said Baiko. "He goes on and on about how teenagers are apparently as horny as the average rabbit, but what if he's just projecting himself on all the kids at school? Could be that King Moron is actually King _Hard_ -on."

"He _was_ giving a girl some shit when I saw him," Yu said thoughtfully.

The three of us started laughing.

"That's why he's a teacher!" I said, struggling to speak through my laughter. "He's a paedophile who failed his priest exams!" We all laughed for a good while more, but eventually I managed to get myself under control. "In all seriousness, though, Yu, I'm surprised he didn't try to beat you to death with those massive fuck-off teeth of his."

"Yeah, the guy's got an overbite that he'd be very grateful for if he ever became a zombie," said Baiko.

"No wonder he's always so eager to bite people's heads off," said Yu.

And then we were laughing again. As we made our way to school, we made a few more wise-cracks at King Moron's expense, but none of them packed quite the same punch as Baiko referring to him as "King Hard-on." Yu and I separated from Baiko when we got to school, and we made our way up to our classroom. The class was basically full – the only two who weren't there was Chie and Mr Morooka himself.

"Hey, guys," Yosuke said as we arrived near him. He looked at me with slight worry. "You doing all right after yesterday?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I reassured him. " _Better_ than good, actually. I'm just … I'm in a really good place right now. Like who whole thing just ended up making things feel better, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it." He went quiet for a few moments. "I wonder how Chie's doing."

"I hope she's okay," said Yu. "I mean, we know she's probably tired, but …"

"To be fair, I'd feel pretty weird if Dominatrix Banana Head came outta _me_ ," I said.

At the phrase "Dominatrix Banana Head," Yosuke cracked up a little. "Too much stuff happened yesterday. I hope she's back to her usual self …"

"So do I," said Yu.

Just then, the classroom door opened, and the girl herself came into the room. She walked over to us rather casually, which was a good sign. "Oh, mornin'," she said.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Yu in concern.

"Yep," Chie said, nodding. "I was out cold until this morning." There was a long pause, like she was struggling with her words. "Um … Thanks for everything yesterday. It's kinda embarrassing, ya know?"

"Yep," Yosuke and I said at the same time.

"You three were right there to see my hidden feelings and all …"

"You're not the only one, Chie," I said. "Me and Yu were there when it happened to Yosuke, we were there when it happened to you, and you guys were there when it happened to me." I shrugged. "If anything, I guess we can look at it was one giant, fucked up bonding experience."

"Yeah, don't sweat it," said Yosuke.

"It's not like we're gonna go blabbing your deepest, darkest secrets to anyone who'll listen," Yu said with some humour in his voice.

"The same thing that happened to us happened to Yosuke, right?" Chie asked, looking grateful. "Soooo … what was it like?"

A grin that people would come to dread over the next year spread across my face. "Well, you see, Chie," I said, "Yosuke's was secretly really, _really_ into him, so it was just one Yosuke caressing the other's cheek. Good thing shit went down before it could start caressing _other_ parts of his anatomy."

Was that joke worth the hit to the back of the head I took from Yosuke? Yes. Yes, it was.

"Fuck off, Yasuhide," Yosuke grumbled after giving me that whack to the head. He turned his attention back to Chie. "So, how should I put this …? Oh, I nearly forgot!" He turned to Yu. "None of that happened when yours awakened, huh?"

"No, I just kinda got talked to in my head," said Yu. It was impossible to know whether or not he was joking.

 _ **"** **I believe my existence is more than enough to potentially prove the validity of his statement,"**_ Gwyn's voice spoke up in my head.

I gave a little start. For awhile, I'd actually forgotten he could speak to me. _Oh, so_ now _you're speaking up, huh?_ I thought to him, thinking it was a bad idea to talk aloud to myself in the middle of a classroom.

 _ **"** **My apologies. It felt as though you were – what's that mortal saying? – 'sorting some stuff out.'"**_

I sighed. _It's fine. Nice to have you aboard, Gwyn._

Yosuke hummed. "Could it be because you've got nothing to hide?" he asked, obviously as unsure of what to make of Yu's statement as I was.

"Oh?" Chie asked in interest. "So nothing happened for you?"

"Nope," said Yu.

"I gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open guy. There's a funny air about you …"

"That's just because I'm hilarious. It has nothing to do with me being 'open.'"

"No, Yu, I'm afraid Yosuke and I are the comic relief around here," I said.

"I dunno," said Chie, "I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that."

This, ladies and gentlemen in the audience, was the first time I ever saw a full-on _grin_ appear on Yu's face. "Want me to bare it all?" he asked.

"Wha—" Chie seemed surprised. I think we all were. "Hey, w-what're you talking about!?"

"Draw me like one of your French girls," said Yu.

Any hope I'd had of holding in my laughter vanished at that exact moment. I doubled over, laughing louder than was probably necessary, holding my gut lest it burst from my body in my hysterics. I looked at Yu with newfound respect for his comedic genius. "Yu, I swear, I'll give you a thousand yen if you just go streaking through the fucking school," I said.

"Don't do it!" said Yosuke. "You'll get arrested again!"

"Except this time it'll be for showing off a whole other kind of 'sword,'" I said.

All four of us then proceeded to laugh our asses off.

"Anyways," Chie said once we'd all gotten our breathing back in control, "what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko. I'm dead set on coming. Remember … you promised."

"You have a Persona now," said Yu. "There's no reason you can't come."

That basically signalled the end of our conversation. I looked up at the clock and saw that there was still a couple of minutes until class started.

Now, what I did next _may_ have been a mistake, but to this day I still think it was a damn _hilarious_ one.

Seeing that Mr Morooka was still nowhere to be found, and still in a state of mind in which making jokes (even about him, though I'd stopped joking about that awhile ago) seemed like a good idea, I moved to the front of the classroom. I cleared my throat to gain everybody's attention, overlapped my lower lip with my top row of teeth, and shouted, "EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS A WHORE!" at the top of my lungs. Thanks to my top teeth being where they were, it muffled my voice just enough to make me sound like an angry old man.

Silence … more silence …

… then gut-busting _laugher_ from everyone.

… Then the classroom door opened. As it turned out, Mr Morooka hadn't been quite as far away from the classroom as I'd thought. He was certainly close enough to have heard my little exclamation, and now he was looking at me, my top teeth still overlapping my bottom lip in a loose impersonation of the man in question, and he looked absolutely fucking _livid_. The glare I was getting from him would've made my face melt if I'd had the amount plastic surgery Michael Jackson had.

"… Mercy?" I squeaked out.

I'm still shocked that the shouting he did didn't shatter all the windows in the immediate vicinity. On the positive side, though, I wasn't the only one being bitched out; the other students had _laughed_.

 _ **"** **Why do embodiments of the Magus Arcana always have to be so immature …?"**_ Gwyn muttered in my head.

* * *

 _Thank God for King Moron's hatred of staying at work later than he has to,_ I thought as the bell rang to signal the end of the day. I was going to be missing my lunchtime for about a week, but thankfully Mr Morooka had a seething hatred for the idea of wasting is free time after work babysitting "some shithead troublemaker." So my little stunt wasn't going to effect my ability to meet up with the others after school.

Despite the apparent urgency of the situation, we all knew, despite it being unspoken, that we weren't going into Mayonaka that day. While leaving Yukiko in there for any length of time made me feel nervous, I fully understood why that was, as did all the others. Going in there every day without fail would have lead to us all being too tired for words, and in a state like that, the odds of us successfully beating whatever Yukiko's Shadow turned into (because, judging from the past three incidents, that was an inevitability) were basically zero. So, for that day at least, we were going to rest up and do our own thing. I had no doubt in my mind that we'd be going back in the very next day, however.

I still felt guilty for spending time resting while Yukiko was stuck in there, though …

 _ **"** **If you believe that**_ **you** ** _have bad feelings about spending time for recuperation, bring your mind to how your friend Chie must feel,"_** said Gwyn. _**"Are the two of them not incredibly close to one another? Do not feel guilty for resting between battles, Yasuhide, for your comrades share the same feelings as yourself, some even more so."**_

 _That … actually helps,_ I thought. _Thanks, Gwyn._

 _ **"** **You are most welcome. Now, if I might make a suggestion?"**_

 _Knock yourself out._

" _ **Why on Earth would I— Oh! I see. Anyway, I've found through my many years that, when time comes to rest between battles, spending time with one's comrades is a rather effective way of making the group as a whole more effective when it comes to battle."**_

 _Not everything's about fighting, Gwyn._

 _ **"** **Indeed. But if you think spending time with one's allies is simply a manner in which to improve your battle ability, you truly are naive to the needs of a human. You require bonds with others in order to truly feel alive."**_

… _All right, you've got a point._ I was honestly planning on spending some time with the others, anyway, but I guess all those years of pretty much entirely avoiding having a true social life had earned me some bad habits. I was going to have to break those. Yu, Yosuke, and Chie had already left the room, but I knew from seeing Yosuke and Chie around in days past that they were probably still hanging around the school somewhere. _I'll probably try and hang out with Yosuke. I like Chie well enough, but until I've learned to keep my more …_ insensitive _jokes in check, it'd probably be best to hang out with someone who has an easier time taking jokes without resorting to violence._

I stood from my seat and made to leave the room, but then I noticed that Yosuke actually hadn't left. It was just that he had his back to me. _How did I not notice him?_ I thought. _It's not like anyone else here has any kind of distinct hair colour._

Banishing such idle thoughts from my mind, I walked over to Yosuke and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey," I said. "You wanna hang out? Get something to eat, or something?"

"Sure thing," he said, readily enough. "You're not expecting me to pay, are you? Didn't you spend all your money yesterday?"

"Yeah, but I picked up a little more in Mayonaka."

"… Where the hell did you find money in there of all places?"

"Didn't you notice? For some reason the Shadows drop it when they die."

"Huh … well that's weird."

"Tell me about it. "So," I clapped my hands together in front of me, "anywhere in particular you wanna get food from? I'd prefer somewhere in the shopping district, the food down there is absolutely delicious."

"Agreed. I'm in the mood for takoyaki," said Yosuke. The two of us started walking through the school on our way to the entrance. It was silent for awhile, then Yosuke said, "I know asking this is probably gonna get annoying, but are you _sure_ you're okay? Yesterday was pretty rough."

"I appreciate the concern, Yosuke, but believe me, if anything I'm actually feeling _better_ than I was before yesterday," I said. I paused, wondering whether or not I should say more. _Fuck it,_ I thought. _I've already opened up to him about her._ "I wrote to Rise last night."

"Good for you, man!"

"Yeah. I only hope she isn't too pissed about how long it's taken me to get in contact. I just want to— Ah, fuck!" I exclaimed suddenly.

"What? What is it!?" Yosuke asked, wide-eyed.

"Her grandmother talks to her on the phone. I could've just gone down and asked for her fucking number!" I groaned to myself. "It would've saved me all this worry and suspense, got the potential depression outta the way quickly."

"Hey, don't worry about it. If calling her up never occurred to you, it probably just means you wanted to put some actual effort in, or something."

"… I guess so." _Come to think of it, just calling her up after all this time_ would _seem really fucking cheap. I guess I'll just pop into her grandmother's shop and ask her to tell me if Rise says she gets the letter … Actually, I think I'll give her my number so she can pass it on to Rise next time they talk. I'll let her know that I've sent off a letter, too._ "Hey, Yosuke. When we get to the shopping district, go ahead and order your food without me, there's just one quick stop I have to make beforehand."

"Sure thing." Considering the conversation we'd just had, he probably knew what my quick stop involved.

* * *

Stepping into the Marukyu tofu shop, I was greeted by the air of fond familiarity I always felt when entering the place, only this time there was no sense of sadness to go with it. That was when it really struck me just how happy I was.

"Hello, how may I— Oh, Yasuhide, hello there," said Rise's kindly old grandmother. "What can I get you?"

"Hi," I said. I walked over to the counter. "Not here to shop today, I'm afraid. I came to tell you something and to give you this." I handed over a slip of paper with my phone number on it, which I had written out on the walk over (and it was no small effort to write while walking, I can assure you). "If you can, I want you to give that to Rise the next time you two talk. I've … I sent her a letter. And, if you don't mind, could you tell her about that, too?" I honestly felt bad asking her to do so much for me, especially considering her time talking to Rise should have been just for the two of them, but the idea of hearing Rise's voice again, even over the phone, filled me with a childlike excitement that I hadn't felt in years.

At the mention of the letter, the old woman's face broke out into a smile that was overflowing with pure joy. "Oh, that's wonderful! She'll be so happy to hear from you. Why, I remember when the two of you were small, and we could never keep you away from each other for any length of time. Inseparable."

"Yeah …" I smiled fondly in remembrance. "I do miss days like that …"

"You two'll see each other again," said the old woman. "And when you do … I expect to become a great-grandmother."

The heat that sprang to my cheeks was roughly equal to the heat of the sun itself. "W-Well, I, um … See ya!"

I darted out of the shop. I could hear her laughing even as I got outside.

I looked toward the takoyaki place, but I didn't see Yosuke. _Did he leave without me?_ No, that couldn't have been it. I looked around some more, and I saw him over by the steak stand, along with Yu and that strange girl from when Yu first got into town. _I guess we're having steak, then._ I didn't have a problem with that, the steak was delicious, too. I made my way over to them, still trying to get the blush under control from what Rise's grandmother had said.

"'Sup, motherfuckers?" I said as I reached them.

"Hey, Yasuhide," said Yu. He nodded toward the girl. "This is Marie. She's a friend of mine."

"Hi," I said to her. "I'm Yasuhide, nice to meet you."

"Uh … hi," she said. It wasn't shy, but she did seem a little awkward.

"So, you want a steak skewer?" Yosuke asked her. "All right, this one's on me!"

"You absolute player," I said, laughing a little. "Twenty minutes ago, you were giving me shit 'cause you thought you were gonna have to pay for mine!"

He ignored me and just walked up to buy the food.

"… You mean you'll buy it for me?" Marie asked in confusion. "… Is that okay?"

"There's no reason to decline," said Yu.

"And since your very presence seems to honeypot him, you should probably take advantage of that as much as you can," I said.

"'Honeypot'? What does that mean?" Marie asked.

I turned to Yu. "I think it's best we don't explain that."

"Agreed," he said.

"Four steak skewers!" Yosuke said to the person running the stall. "One for each of us."

"Oh my, business is booming!" said the woman running the stall. "Just a moment, please."

"I would like to take a moment here before we eat to thank Brosuke for purchasing what is about to enter into my body," I said. "And yes, I made that sound dirty on purpose."

Yu, Yosuke, and I had a good laugh over that, but Marie didn't seem to understand.

We ate mostly in silence, and I simply savoured the taste of the steak. I could see why Chie was such an addict, this stuff tasted spectacular. When we were done, we sat on the benches around the nearby table in order to chat.

"Whew!" said Yosuke. "Is that a bellyful or what! This place always has huge portions! So, Marie, what d'you think of the local speciality?"

"It's really weird," said Marie. "It's tough, hard to bite into, and it got cold while I was still eating it."

"A bundle of positivity, this girl …" I mumbled.

 _ **"** **Not everyone makes it a habit to think on the 'bright side,' as it were,"**_ said Gwyn.

"It was delicious," said Marie.

 _ **"…**_ _**We stand corrected."**_

 _Indeed._

"Oh, uh … that's good," Yosuke said weakly. "Didn't sound like you liked it at the beginning there. But, all's well that ends well!"

"Hey, why's it called 'steak,' anyway?" asked Marie. "Is it short for something?"

I made a mental not to ask Yu exactly where he found this girl. I was starting to get the impression that she wasn't the most normal of individuals.

"It's short for 'Steaaaaaaaaak,'" said Yu humorously.

I snorted.

"… That's stupid," said Marie. "Might as well just call it 'ake.' That's what I'm gonna do."

"Uh, that isn't much better," said Yosuke.

"To each their own, I guess," I said, trying to shrug it off.

"And you!" Yosuke pointed angrily at Yu. "Don't tell her lies! She's believing it!"

"Don't ruin my fun," said Yu.

"Don't refer to it as fun, Yu, you don't know how this could be interpreted," I said. I waved my hand through the air dramatically. "Grey-haired delinquent deceives impressionable young girl … Doesn't sound so funny any more, does it?" I grinned at him. Yosuke laughed.

"You eat this every day?" asked Marie. "… No fair. I should've come earlier …"

 _That's what she said,_ I thought with a grin.

The four of us made small talk for awhile, then Yu went off somewhere with Marie. Eventually, Yosuke and I went our separate ways, too. I told Mum I had already eaten, but I still sat in on dinner that night, wanting to feel closer with my family.

I slept very well that night … after taking care of the mountain of homework I'd managed to accumulate.

* * *

 _Tuesday, 19th of April, 2011_

The conversation on the way to school that morning was a lot less exciting than the conversation of the previous day. That was probably a good thing, come to think of it, I really didn't want to piss off Mr Morooka more than I already had. The walk to school was almost _boring_ , as a matter of fact, but not quite so. It had entered into that stage that all new parts of your routine eventually enter into, wherein the entire event simply passes you by, not dull but not quite interesting, either. Like the way brushing your teeth becomes something you just do.

Then we got nearer the school, and two guys walking in front of us had a conversation that piqued my interest. (It's _not_ eavesdropping if they're talking loudly!)

"Yo!" said a student in a sweatsuit as he jogged past us to meet with his friend.

"Oh, what's up?" asked his decidedly cheerful-sounding friend. "You got morning practice?"

"You know how guys can join the sports clubs starting today, right?" asked the guy in the sweatsuit. "I thought maybe if I ran around a little, that would be some good promotion."

"Dude …" said the cheerful guy, sound exasperated. "If you run around in that, how're people gonna know which club you're in?"

"… I didn't think about that."

The cheerful guy laughed heartily. "That's classic you. I hope our club gets some fresh blood, too. It gets everyone excited!"

"Are you guys not going to try and get people to sign up?"

"I don't know about that. Everyone's saying they want a girl to be our manager, though. Oh, hey! Let's stop by the shrine in the shopping district on our way home today. Might as well pray for some newcomers."

"We're leaving that up to God now …? Well, all right. Oh yeah, did you hear that rumour? About the thing that lives at the shrine?"

"I did! I wonder if it's true."

"I could go for joining a sports club," I said suddenly, more to myself than anyone else.

"Have you ever even _played_ a sport?" Baiko asked, incredulous.

"Not professionally … or with other people … but in my spare time, if I'm really bored, I throw a few hoops in that old sports place that no one goes to any more. And hey, I'm still more qualified than you. The only sports you've ever played has been on your Xbox."

"Where did this sports thing come from, anyway?"

"The two guys in front of us were just talking about it," said Yu. He looked thoughtful. "You know, I think I could go for joining one, too. Soccer club strikes my fancy."

"You two are weird," said Baiko, shaking his head at us. "Who the hell just up and listens to two people they don't know talking?"

"… I'd tell you to mind your own business, but that'd make me a hypocrite." I shrugged. "And it's not like I was eavesdropping or anything. Those two were talking so loud I'm surprised half the fucking school didn't hear them."

Baiko pulled ahead of us after that, probably not wanting his "friends" to see him hanging with us "weirdos."

 _ **"** **If you disapprove of the company your brother keeps, you may consider attempting to spend time in the company of other, more desirable individuals,"**_ said Gwyn.

 _The thought_ had _occurred to me,_ I thought back to him. _But I don't know were I would start._

"We're going back into Mayonaka tomorrow," said Yu. Now that Baiko was gone, we could talk about such things safely. "We'll take today to be sure that everyone's a hundred percent recovered from out last trip, but then we're going back in to save Yukiko."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said.

I actually found myself looking forward to it, honestly. I had a Persona now, and there was part of me that couldn't wait to test out Gwyn's abilities against those creepy-ass Shadows.

* * *

After school, I very quickly ate through my lunch as Yu waited for me. These detentions with Mr Morooka may have been conveniently timed as far as our investigation was concerned, but my stomach wasn't exactly grateful for the experience. After devouring my food so quickly that I was at high risk of indigestion, Yu and I left the classroom, went downstairs, and stood outside the faculty room.

"I'm … thinking you should probably ask," I said upon seeing Mr Morooka through the small window in the door. "He may not like you, but after that little joke I pulled yesterday, I'll probably get shouted out the window before he willingly tells _me_ anything about signing up for the clubs."

"Fair point," Yu said in agreement. "I'll be back in a sec."

"Thank Yu," I said, smirking to myself. He didn't respond. _Note to self: continue using his name to make puns until somebody notices._

About ten minutes later (I guessed that King Moron had tried to lecture Yu out of joining a club), Yu emerged from the faculty room with a rather tired look about him, looking like he'd just come out of a battle of some sort. "The sport clubs meet on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday," he said. "They don't meet when it's raining. The basketball team meet in the gym, and the soccer team meet on the field."

"It took you ten minutes just for that?" I asked, wide-eyed. "Jesus Christ, how much other shit did he talk about?"

"I wasn't paying attention to most of it," Yu admitted.

The two of us walked through the halls together, and in a few short moments, we had reached the exit that led to the two sports areas.

"I guess this is where we part ways for the time being," I said. I was going to join the basketball club, and Yu was going to join the soccer club. "See you when we get out."

"See you," Yu said, and walked over to the field.

I made my way into the gym. Signing up was a rather dull affair, so I won't bore you with the details. Instead, let's just skip ahead to when I was being introduced to the other members of the club. I was instantly stricken with disappointment just because of how _few_ of them there were. And out of the few that I _did_ see, only one of them looked in any way enthusiastic – it was the cheerful guy whose conversation I'd listened to on the way to school.

"All right, guys, listen up," said our PE teacher. "You have a new teammate! Any of you guys know Yasuhide Kusuhara?" No one I knew was there, so no one really responded. "He's a home-grown athlete if I ever saw one—"

 _Bullshit,_ I thought. _I think if he's trying to get their enthusiasm up, he's gonna have to a hell of a lot more than make the new guy look like a champion._ I was rather uncomfortable with how much this guy was building me up. I joined for fun, and maybe to get some friends out of it, I really didn't need all the added pressure this man was so determined to put on me.

"I'm even thinking about making him captain!" the PE teacher finished.

"Sounds good to me," one of the players said in a bored drawl. "Voting is a pain, anyway."

 _Well, at the very least they aren't taking this seriously,_ I thought, feeling the weight of responsibility being lifted from my shoulders. It didn't look like there was going to be much pressure, after all.

"Here, Yasuhide, why don't you say something to the team?" the PE teacher said to me.

"I came here to play basketball, but it's starting to look like that's gonna be an issue," I said pointedly. The fact that only one person looked in any way happy to be there really wasn't raising my confidence in the situation.

"Yeah, probably," one of them said, uncaring. Then they started goofing around.

"Well, you guys can take it from here," said the PE teacher, clearly oblivious to everyone's displeasure. "I've gotta go introduce the soccer team's new recruit. Yasuhide, why don't you just watch for today, all right? I've gotta take off now." He left without another word.

 _Great,_ I thought, sighing. _Looks like I've just joined the fucking peewee squad._

The team practised for all of _TEN FUCKING MINUTES_ and left. All but the cheerful guy from earlier, who was now approaching me with a large smile on his face. He had dark blue hair, grey eyes, and was wearing a black basketball uniform with the school logo embroidered on it.

"Hey," he said when he reached me.

"Hi," I said, trying to smile, but failing rather epically.

"Whadja think of your first day here?" he asked me.

"Honestly?" I said. "I think the majority of the team are lazy, bone-idle shits."

He chuckled awkwardly. "You're, er … you're not wrong, unfortunately …" He cleared his throat. "I'm Kou Ichijo. Second year, same as you. Nice to meet ya."

"Yasuhide Kusuhara," I introduced myself, though I knew he knew that already. "And it's nice to meet you, too. So, are they always like this? I mean, when I signed up for the basketball club, I expected to, you know, _play_ basketball."

"Well … it's nice to see someone take an actual interest in the team, let's put it that way," said Kou. "They always leave early like this. I suggested we work on rebounding, but they were all like, 'That's too tiring.' So, all we did was take a few shots …" He shook his head, looked at me, and smiled. "But I really shouldn't be scaring you off with my bitching on the first day, should I?"

"No, please, bitch away," I said. "From the sounds of it, you very much deserve to."

"Well, we've got a lot of members who just don't bother showing up to practice, but the game is still fun … You've played before, right?"

"A little, but not much," I admitted. "I play it in PE if we have to, and sometimes I go and shoot some hoops by myself, but never anything professional, I'm afraid."

"Well, I can't wait to see what you've got."

"As long as you don't expect me to mimic the moves from _Space Jam_ , I think we're all good."

That got a laugh out of him. "No, nothing like that," he said. "It's a simple sport. But if you do it right, I'm sure you'll toughen up."

"Noted." I looked around awkwardly. "So … what do we do now?"

"Normally I just polish the balls." He said it with such seriousness that I couldn't help but crack a smile. "I don't know what you're laughing about. While they're off at their lame-ass parties, I get to stay here and play with balls. I _loooove_ them balls!"

I couldn't keep it constrained to just a grin any more. I burst out laughing something fierce. "You're one funny guy, Kou," I said, trying to keep my laughter under control. "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

* * *

A little while later, Kou (who was dressed in more casual clothes) and I went out to the field, where the soccer team were. They all wore orange bibs over PE uniforms. Yu was stood near the guy in the sweatsuit from earlier, who had short brown hair, brown eyes, and a brown band-aid on his nose.

"Yo, Daisuke, you waiting for a special invitation!?" Kou asked him as we approached. "Let's go!"

"Yu, I hope you've been having a better time here than I am there, 'cause the basketball team are all _insufferably_ lazy," I said.

"The soccer team all hate me because I'm a city boy," said Yu.

"Ah … so we both got fucked over on this?"

"Looks that way."

"Oh, hey, you're the transfer student, right?" Kou asked Yu. "Joined the soccer team, huh? Good, 'cause they need all the help they can get. Pretty weak team, know what I'm saying?"

"A pretty weak team who actually puts effort in is still leagues better than what we've got," I said.

Yu smiled. "I'll do my best to help them out," he said.

"The big mouth here is Kou," Daisuke said to Yu. "He's the same grade as us, but he's on the basketball team, as you've heard. And you are?" he asked me.

"Yasuhide," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"So," said Kou, turning to Yu, "the team giving you a hard time. Ahhh, I can hear it now. 'Us country folk ain't gonna get shown up by no big city boy!' Gotta love those guys."

"It's not funny, man …" said Daisuke.

"Well, as long as he's got some skills, they'll back off sooner or later," said Kou. "You played much soccer before, Yu?"

"Plenty," said Yu.

"Then this'll be easy, right?"

"Unless they're like stereotypical movie bullies, and he has to win some big competition to earn their respect," I said. "God, I can see the clichés coming from a mile away … _The Waterboy_ , eat your heart out."

We had a good laugh, then we all went home. On the walk home I discovered that the PE teacher apparently made it a habit of saying he'll make the new guys the team captains, as he did exactly the same thing to Yu as he had done to me, right down to building up his skills to an insane degree. It was another uneventful night, which I spent reading and watching TV.

The next day, we'd be returning to Mayonaka.

* * *

 **All right, so my planned editing of _The Hyoudou Brothers_ didn't quite go as planned. I've recently discovered that I find it impossible to force myself to work on something when I really want to work on something else. What I want to work on is this, but I don't like the idea of leaving all my other stories sitting. That being said, if I try to force myself, the work comes off as rushed and sloppy, so I prefer not to do so. The first chapter of _The Hyoudou Brothers_ is all edited up, though, so if you want to go look at that, knock yourselves out.**

 **Anyway, Constant Readers, this was more of a social interaction/character development chapter, which I think is needed after everything that happened last time. Yasuhide joining the basketball club was something I've had planned for awhile, as I feel that he should have his own social life outside of the main group. I have another few deviations planned for him later on in order to flesh him out as a character. I'm hoping to get the whole Yukiko arc out of the way in the next couple of chapters, which I hope will come out quicker than this one. Also, I'd just like to make it known that, as an Englishman, writing the word "soccer" makes me feel dirty.**

 **I'm also thinking about starting up my _Persona 3_ story soon, though that's not a guarantee. If I do, then updates for this and updates for that may end up either revolving or there may just be long periods where one is updated and the other isn't. Either way, however, you'll have some _Persona_ to read through.**

 **Now, before we go, I'll respond to some lovely reviews.**

 **Arc of Corona:** As stated at one point during this chapter, Yasuhide's Arcana is that of The Magus. My thought process was that Adachi's initial Arcana, The Jester, is just The Fool Arcana from an alternate Tarot deck (the Thoth deck), so I used the alternate version of The Magician, which is The Magus.

 **DarkLord98:** Facing the Shadow itself is a classic rather than a cliché, I agree, but OCs in _Persona_ fics tend to have exactly the same problem: depression and suicidal thoughts/tendencies – _that's_ the cliché I was talking about avoiding. Thank you very much. I'm hoping people'll like it when his Ultimate Persona is revealed. Honestly, it's been so long that I can't actually remember what the poll was about, sorry.

 **GreenDo:** I actually like Naoto the best, honestly. It's a _Persona_ story, a certain level of darkness was to be expected, given the themes that these games cover. Honestly, I was a little disappointed, too, as I like to make my chapters as long as I can, but unfortunately my attempts to avoid the clichés of this category meant I wasn't able to include as much drama as there usually is (that, and the fight with the Shadow was kind of a cop-out, huh?). I believe the line is actually "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain," but the sentiment still stands, yes. Yep, a fire Persona; I'm sorry in advance if you don't like how I've characterised him, but as Yasuhide's Persona, he is literally a representation of Yasuhide's psyche, so he'll probably act differently to what you'd expect. Well, I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!

 **DCMatriXHunter:** I know, I know, but I couldn't come up with anything. I've got an OC Persona prepared for my _Persona 3_ story, but my urge to get through this quickly kinda fucked me up in that regard.

 **foxchick1:** Oh, don't worry, I have some stuff planned for Baiko not far down the line. I'm gonna go into the third person in order to focus on him in a few instances.

 **Guest:** Okay.

 **Jacob Deitz:** I'll probably do a story for _Persona Q_ , yes, but not for a long time yet.

 **pyrojack25:** Thank you. You'll see Yasuhide's powers in action over the next couple of chapters, as as I've said, I plan on getting the Yukiko arc out of the way pretty soon. A very nice _Age of Ultron_ reference.

 **Guest:** Thank you very much.

 **NecroGodYami:** Thank you very much, I had hoped people would like him. And his Arcana is The Magus, of the Thoth Tarot deck.

 **Raidentensho:** I get the feeling that your use of the words "you" and "your" you think that this is a self-insert, when it isn't, Yasuhide is a character I created. As for your suggestions, I'm not the biggest expert on Japanese myths and legends, so I went with a deity that I was familiar with (even if he does only exist in a video game). Yasuhide's Arcana, as stated in this chapter, is The Magus, which appears in the Thoth Tarot deck in the place of The Magician. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

 **Guest:** Yep, that about sums him up. XD Glad you like it.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Thank you very much. I'm glad you like what I've done so far. All are very good ideas – as are the ones you've PMd me with – and I'll definitely consider using them.

 **Azrael:** Here's the new chapter, sorry it took so long.

 **Haye2:** Glad you like it!

 **Dis Lexic:** You're damn right Gwyn's fucking awesome! It's nice to see your name popping up in the review section. Hope you liked the new chapter.

 **And with that, Constant Readers, I bid you adieu until next time!**


	10. Wednesday, 21 April 2011

**Guess who's back~ Back again~ PJ's back~ Tell a friend~**

 **Okay, serious time. Sorry for taking so long with this. I do still consider it my main project – main PERSONAL project, anyway – but I've since taken up with another group of writers and have certain obligations in that regard. That being said, I hope you enjoy what I've got for you today.**

 **Also, I've released a _Persona 5_ story, which you can check out if you like.**

"Persona" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts/Letters

"Persona!" – TV/Intercom/Phone Speech

 **Persona!** – Texts/Emails

 _"Persona!"_ – Disembodied Voices

 **"Persona!"** – Normal Shadow Speech

 _ **"Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadow/Persona Speech

 _ **(It should also be noted that I'm in the process of editing the previous chapters to include honorifics and such, which is why they're present here. Not all previous chapters are edited yet, so please give me some time.)**_

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Have you ever woken up and just felt _really_ shitty about yourself?

The situation with Yukiko-san had been pulling the strings at the back of my mind for the past two days. I know we had to take some time for Chie and I to recover, for everyone to make sure they were in peak condition for our next foray into Mayonaka, but still …

I tried not to let my conscience bug me. It did not work.

My morning routine went the same way you've probably come to expect by now. Right up until Yosuke-san came up behind Yu-san and I (Baiko having gone ahead to hang out with the Asshole Squad).

"Yo, guys," he said jovially. "Hey, I wanted to ask you … You know how we can enter TVs now?"

"No, I forgot," I quipped, which earned me a slug to the arm.

"Have either of you ever tried sticking your hand in when the TV's on?" Yosuke-san asked us. "What I mean is, have you tried touching the screen while the Midnight Channel is on?"

I had not tried that, I reflected. It was an interesting idea. From what Teddie-san had said, each TV leads to a different part of that world, and vice versa, any exits created in there would lead to a different TV out here. But, hypothetically, if one were to stick one's hand in while the Midnight Channel was showing one specific location within Mayonaka, was it not at least _possible_ one might be able to get straight to that location …?

"Yeah, I did do that," said Yu-san. "It didn't really work, though."

… _Well, so much for that,_ I thought slightly dejectedly. As if life would be kind enough to let us skip ahead like that …

"Ooh, ahead of the game!" said Yosuke-san. "No wonder you're our leader! That's interesting, though. So you couldn't go to the place that was shown on TV."

"No." Yu-san shook his head. "Sorry, Yosuke-san."

"I thought it was a good idea, too," I said. "If that _had_ worked, it would've been brilliant."

"Yeah …" Yosuke-san sighed. "But now that I think about it some more, of course it wouldn't work. Teddie-san said where you end up depends on which TV you go into. Although, every TV sees the same thing on the Midnight Channel …"

I shrugged. "There are sludge monsters that turn into even weirder monsters living inside the TV, which we can jump into, and we fight them with giant monsters-"

 _ **"I resent that,"**_ said Gwyn.

"-we can summon by smashing cards that we basically pull out of our asses. It was a good idea, Yosuke-san, but it's not like this whole situation is backed up by a wank-load of logic. Know what I mean?"

"When you say it like that, of course it sounds ridiculous," said Yu-san.

Despite clearly struggling not to do so, Yosuke-san cracked a smile.

Considering we were walking along a path crowded with teenagers, I'm sure that sounded very bizarre to somebody.

* * *

Hosoi-sensei is the most memorable of the teachers at Yasogami High. King Moron is an asshole; Kashiwagi-sensei has fucked so many students it's a wonder she still has her job; but Hosoi-sensei has a puppet version of himself. I reckon I'll remember having my own real life Mr Garrison and Mr Hat long after I've forgotten about Mr Overbite and Lady Fucksalot.

I won't tell you about the class I had with Hosoi-sensei that day because nobody wants to hear that shit, but I just wanted to make it clear that in this school full of bizarre teachers (looking at you, Queen Tut!), he's the one I think I'll remember the most.

Anyway …

I think my bonding with the others in our little gang and making friends with Kou-san and Daisuke-san must have gotten my mind rolling in a particular direction, because as I sat there idly, barely aware that the bell for the end of the day had even rung, just waiting for the go ahead from Yu-san that we'd be going into Mayonaka tonight, I had a little thought. _Maybe I should try socialising a bit with someone I already see a lot of._

I glanced toward the seat Aika-san occupied. She was still here.

 _Well, time to start interacting with the community a bit more, I guess._ I already kind of knew her, anyway. I've eaten at her family's establishment more times than I can count.

I stood up and walked over to her desk.

"Hey, Aika-san," I greeted. She turned her stoic gaze to me. "How're things?"

"Good," she said. "I haven't seen you in our place in a while."

On reflection, it's kind of sad that I spent so much time avoiding home back then that a week or so counted as "a while."

"Been staying in a lot more," I said. "All the shit that's been going on around town, you know?"

"… Yeah, I know."

The tone of her voice changed so slightly that I was convinced I might have been imagining it. I could have sworn I heard a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked in concern.

"I'm fine. Just …" She sighed. "Saki came as a nasty surprise."

I was not surprised, merely disappointed in myself for not thinking of it. Of course Aika-san and Konishi-senpai knew each other. Both of them grew up in old Inaba families who owned businesses in the Shopping District. The fact that it never occurred to me before did not exactly speak well of my intelligence. Christ, _I_ know most of the families from the Shopping District, and I grew up and lived in the residential area!

"Oh … sorry," I said tactfully. I was saved any further awkwardness when my phone buzzed to inform me of a text being received.

It was from Yu-san.

 **We're going into the TV today. Meet at Junes as soon as you can.**

I looked back and saw him leaving the room with Chie-san. For the briefest of moments, I wondered why he didn't just come over and whisper it to me. Then I considered the fact that a text was infinitely more discreet.

"I've got somewhere I need to be," I told Aika-san. "But you hang in there, okay? I hate to see my friends upset."

After a brief moment, she nodded once at me. I bid her farewell and left.

I caught up with Yu-san and Chie-san pretty quickly.

* * *

We wasted no time in entering Mayonaka.

"Hey, there you are!" Teddie-san said when we arrived. "Let's play!"

"I'm afraid we're on a time limit here, Teddie-san," said Yu-san.

"Huh? No time?" It seemed to click inside his brain … wait, did Teddie-san even _have_ a brain? His head looked pretty empty when Yosuke-san took it off, so I don't know … "Oh, yeah, that's right! Let's go save the lost girl! Let me know when you're ready, Sensei."

Then Yu-san walked into a corner and stared at it for a while.

"… What's he doing?" Chie-san asked in blatant confusion.

"I don't know, but it's … weird," said Yosuke-san.

I walked over to Yu-san and waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth— er, Mayonaka to Yu-san. Anybody home?"

He just stayed there, staring ahead with the hazy look of a sleepwalker.

 _Is … is he asleep?_ I wondered with a curious tilt of my head. _I mean, the fuck?_

I turned to Teddie-san, who was just standing there with a smile on his face. "You aren't questioning this?" I asked incredulously.

"Who am I to question Sensei's preparations?" he asked in return.

"… Okay, _just_ because this is one of the few times you've said something that's relatively clear, I'm gonna let you have that one."

"I'm not," said Chie-san. "What the hell, Teddie-san?"

Then Yu-san woke up, turned toward us, and said, "Okay, let's go."

Yosuke-san, Chie-san, and I goggled at him.

"So … not gonna address that at all?" I asked.

"Address what?" he asked.

"You were standing there staring at nothing for, like, five minutes," said Yosuke-san.

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you fucking were," Chie-san argued.

"No. I was doing Persona stuff."

"How the fuck is staring into the fog doing Persona stuff?" I asked.

"I was sitting in a blue limo called the Velvet Room that exists between dreams and reality. It's run by this guy, Igor-san, with a really long nose and his assistant, Margaret-san. Marie-san lives in there, too. They help me with Persona stuff."

"… That's either all true, or he's on drugs," said Yosuke-san. "And frankly, at this point, I don't know which is more likely …"

"Can we _please_ just go save Yukiko now?" asked Chie.

Yu-san nodded. "Let's get going."

We got going.

* * *

Teddie-san hummed when we entered the castle.

"Sensei, can I bother you for a second?" he asked. "The hall here seems different from before, so this place might get pretty tricky … But I'm with you! Don't you worry, Sensei! Leave it to me to show the way!"

"So you're gonna take the lead, then?" I asked with a raised eyebrow that would make Mr Spock proud. "Gonna put yourself in front of us so you can map our way through the Shadows? Gee, Teddie-san, what a nice gesture!"

In case there were any doubts, yes, I was being sarcastic.

Teddie-san laughed nervously, then slunk behind us.

"Stop picking on the bear, Yasuhide-san," Yu said, though there was an amused look on his face.

"Why? It's fun."

"Yeah, it is," Yosuke-san said with a grin.

"We should just get on with this," said Chie-san, though she was clearly trying to hide some amusement, as well.

The part of the corridor we entered into was short. I could see what Teddie-san meant about this being different – this had definitely changed from how it was when we first came in here. There was a short bit of hallway that had a chest at the end of it and a door on the left side. Yu-san went to the chest, opened it, took out the contents (some sort of seed), and then we ventured through the door.

There were three Lying Hableries the second we walked through.

" _Persona!_ " the collective shout went out.

Actually summoning Gwyn for the first time was certainly something. I broke that glowing blue card in front of my face, and suddenly I felt freedom. I was letting loose everything I normally kept cooped up within and using it as a weapon against my enemies. It was a feeling of relief I knew instinctively would exhaust me if I kept it going for too long, but I simply did not care at the time. If you've ever tasted freedom, true freedom, then you know what I mean. Truly divine.

I leapt forward, invigorated by the new feeling, and swung my cutlass at the nearest Shadow. I sliced its tongue off, and it reeled back.

I pointed my arm forward and instinctively knew what to shout. " _Agi!_ "

A violent ball of flame ejected from where Gwyn was in the air behind me and collided with the Shadow. It was instantly vaporised in the heat.

 _Oh fuck the hell yes,_ I thought with what was probably a disturbingly violent and manic grin.

Jiraiya landed a solid Bash on another just before Izanagi nailed it with Zio.

Tomoe impaled the last of the three through the mouth with her spear.

"Those things are ridiculously easy to kill," I commented.

"Don't knock it," said Yu, then we got moving again.

We turned right, the only direction available, then went left through a door on that side of the long hallway we ended up in. Through the door was one of those rooms with the chest in one corner. There were two more Lying Hableries, too.

A Zio from Izanagi and a Bash from Jiraiya took both of them out before it could evolve into much of a fight. The chest they seemed to be guarding contained a stone of some sort (I later learned it was called a Life Stone).

We went back out into the hallway, which veered off diagonally to the right, then straightened up again, then took us through a right turn. It veered off diagonally to the left before going straight again. There was a door on our left. We went through it. The stairs to the second floor were in there.

We went up.

We went through the large set of double doors.

Before we'd even gone all the way in, I got a mild case of the shivers. It should have been really easy to think of this room as the room I accepted myself in, the room I kicked my demons in the dick in, the room where I took the first step to growing as a person. It would have been healthier to do so. But I could not. Something about the knowledge that I had faced down my Shadow in here was stopping it from having any positive connotations in my mind. No matter how hard I might have tried, this was always going to be the room where all of my deepest, darkest secrets were aired to a group of people from my school.

I shivered again.

I wondered if Chie-san felt the same.

The person with the long black hair and the Disney-style dress had her back to us. There was a dark blue-purple aura around her.

"Yukiko …?" said Chie-san.

"Yukiko-san!" said Yosuke-san. "Are you all right!?"

She kept her back to us.

"Yukiko … what's wrong?" asked Chie.

 **"** _ **Heehee**_ **…"** giggled Shadow Yukiko. **"** _ **Ahahahahahaha!**_ **"** She turned toward us with that wide, alluring smile on my face. **"Oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'll play into all this!"** She chuckled. **"Things are really heating up! Okie-dokie! I'm going back to hunt for my Prince Charming! Ohhh, where could he be …? This place is huge! It's sooo exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him!"**

"He's right here," I said, nodding my head toward Yu-san. He looked like he wanted to punch me.

 **"Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come!** _ **Let's go further in then, shall we!?**_ **"**

She said that last part in a tone that reminded me of something else entirely.

As if this could not get any weirder, a fluorescent sign appeared _in thin fucking air_ like you'd expect at the start of a TV show. Personally, it actually reminded me of those little title cards they have every time you enter a new world in the _Kingdom Hearts_ games. It was accompanied by the disembodied sounds of cheering and clapping.

 _ **Princess Yukiko's  
**_ **H** **UNT FOR HER Prince Charming!**

"Wh-What the hell is this!?" Yosuke-san exclaimed.

"Looks like what we've been seeing on the Midnight Channel," I said. "My biggest question is, where the fuck did the applause come from?"

"You're not Yukiko …" said Chie-san.

 _How long did it take her to put those pieces together?_ I wondered.

"Who are you!?" she demanded.

… _Okay, we're looking at some kind of amnesia here, or some shit._

 _ **"Indeed,"**_ Gwyn said to me. _**"You humans have very short-term memories, don't you? I was always under the impression that it is fish who have the shortest memories."**_

Shadow Yukiko chuckled. **"What're you talking about? I'm Yukiko … and Yukiko is me."**

Chie said, "No! Don't tell me, are you—!?"

"Oh my God, it's her _Shadow_ ," I said in unhidden exasperation. "There, it's out there. Now can we get the fuck on with this?"

Then the disembodied voices started up again.

"What's with these voices …?" Yosuke-san asked, as if we hadn't heard them before.

Teddie shuddered. "The Shadows are getting agitated!"

 **"Well, I'm off again!"** Shadow Yukiko announced. **" _Heehee!_ You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!"**

Shadow Yukiko turned around and ran through another set of double doors, up to the next floor.

Chie-san stepped forward. "Hey, wait!" She turned back to us. "That clearly wasn't the real Yukiko. It had to be …"

"I think it was," said Teddie-san. "It must have been the other part of herself."

"Ding, ding, ding, some cogs are turning!" I announced in falsified joy. "Now that we've all proved ourselves capable of basic human thought, do you think we should do something? Because I think we should do something."

"I thought you were gonna be nicer …" Chie-san grumbled.

"Baby steps!"

"I don't think she was excited for nothing," said Teddie-san. "The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it."

"Show us something?" Yu-san asked curiously.

"It's hard to explain … It seems like she has a strong connection to this castle. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought!"

"Yukiko …!" Chie-san shouted before running ahead again.

"Hey …" Yosuke-san called after her. "Not again! Damn it, we told her not to run off on her own!"

"Well, time to follow her example," I said.

And as we ran after her, I simply could not help myself.

" _LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!_ "

"Oh, for fuck's sake," our fearless leader muttered under his breath.

"This is my life now," Yosuke-san muttered. "I am in Hell …"

Even Chie-san, who was halfway up the stairs, came back down and asked, "Did you _really_ just shout Leroy Jenkins?"

"It got you back here, didn't it?" I asked.

None of them had an answer to that.

"What's Leroy Jenkins?" asked Teddie-san.

Like that, normalcy – or whatever was left of it – was restored.

We went up the stairs and entered into another long hallway. There was a door on our immediate right.

Shadow Yukiko's voice resounded even though she was nowhere to be seen.

 _"_ Teeheehee _… My Prince will soon come for me."_ A chuckle. _"I'll always be waiting. Forever and ever …"_

Teddie-san hummed. "I hear her voice … But all I sense around here are you and Shadows. Watch out for the Shadows, and keep going!"

We went through the door on our right, which led to a smaller hallway that went forward and turned right, where there was a chest at the end. Yu-san opened the chest and took out an Amrita Soda. For a moment, I was wondering just what the hell that was doing in here.

We continued down the corridor and encountered a group of three Shadows of a kind we hadn't seen before.

They had the appearance of large black birds with a big red eye on their chests, all of them carrying a lit lantern in their talons. Teddie informed us that they had the rather unimaginative name Black Ravens.

" _Zio!_ " Yu-san shouted, and Izanagi fired off lightning at one of the Black Ravens. It went down but didn't die.

" _Cleave!_ " I yelled, and Gwyn brought his greatsword across, chopping one of the other birds in half. Again, it did not die, but darkness emanating from both halves pulled it back together. I noted, with some concern, that I felt somehow weaker after having Gwyn attack physically. So for my next trick, I sent out an Agi, which finished the Black Raven off.

Chie-san Skewered the one Yu-san had sent down, and it died.

Yosuke-san sent Jiraiya in with a Bash, and somehow managed to take out the last of the Black Ravens in one go.

I was sure we got lucky that they never got the chance to attack.

Suddenly remembering that the Shadows dropped money when killed, I bent down, gathered some up, and shoved it in my pockets. It had to be about ￥360.

We continued through the hallway. It went diagonally to the right, then straight again, then we saw more Shadows. By this point, we seemed to agree without saying so aloud that getting into pointless fights was a bad idea, so we kept on running. We went through a door on the right, which led to another hallway, then opened another door on the right, which led into an empty room, so we kept on going up the hallway. We kept going. There was another door on the right, which led to a shorter hallway with a treasure chest at the end. Yu-san got a Life Stone out of it. We kept going until we found yet another door on the right, which brought us to the next set of stairs. We went up.

 _"Welcome,"_ the voice of Yukiko-san said as we got to the top of the stairs. _"Thank you for coming to the Amagi Inn today. Your room is right this way. If we can help you in any way, please let us know immediately."_

"… What's this voice talking about?" asked Teddie-san. "This place isn't an inn. It's totally a castle!"

We ran along the long corridor, then turned left and went through a door. As we ran down that hallway, we came across a door and a Shadow that looked like a giant golden hand with a blue mask.

"A rare monster!" Teddie-san exclaimed with excitement. "Beat the stuffing out of it!"

Yu-san looked at him, then at Yosuke-san, Chie-san, and me. We all shrugged. Yu-san charged at the Happiness Hand, and we followed.

" _Valkyrie!_ " Yu-san shouted, then summoned another Persona. She was a female figure in armour with a white cape, riding a horse with an equally armoured head. She Cleaved the Happiness Hand right across, and it went down on … whatever a walking hand has for an ass. "All-Out Attack!"

The lot of us jumped on the downed Shadow and started wailing on it with our weapons. It became black smoke when it died, just like the others.

Part of me had expected it to be gold.

Despite how easy it was to kill, I felt myself get a not insignificant boost in strength upon its death. It also dropped at least ￥2,200, which we split between us, meaning I managed to pocket ￥550 from the encounter.

We went through the door we found and in turn found the stairs, which we wasted no time in ascending.

This floor felt somehow … darker than those previous. I cannot quite put it another way than that; it just felt more dangerous, somehow.

"Where is she …?" Teddie-san seemed to be asking himself more than anyone else. He was sniffing at the air.

 _"Hmhmhm …"_ Yukiko-san's disembodied voice resounded around us. _"Ohoho …"_

 _I hate that she's laughing,_ I thought. Under any other circumstances, Yukiko-san laughing might have been a very pleasant sound. Under _these_ circumstances, however, it was highly disconcerting. Eerie, even.

"I can sense her!" Teddie-san exclaimed. "She must be on this floor!"

We got to moving down the hallway. I had two very distinct feelings in that moment. Whether or not the others shared them, I am not sure. The first and most mundane was the precognitive feeling that all this running through hallways was going to get repetitive very fucking quickly. The second – this one, I'm half sure the others felt, too – was a new sense of caution; knowing that Shadow Yukiko, and possibly Yukiko-san herself, was on this floor was making me more careful.

 _"Wow!"_ said Yukiko-san's voice. _"By any chance, are you … my Princes? I'm locked up here … Please save me!_ Mhmhm _… I'm sure my Princes can do it … I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place … I'll be waiting for you …_ Ohoho _…"_

"This seems very strange …" said Teddie-san. "Be careful."

We ended up dodging past a Shadow on our way through a door on the right side of the hallway. We went a little way down the new hallway and tried another door, also on the right. This one was locked. Quite an oddity, considering none of the doors we'd seen so far had been locked.

"Weird …" Yu-san commented. He shook his head. "Let's keep going."

We started to move again—

"The fuck!?" I exclaimed as I was briefly blinded by a flash of white light.

I thought I was still staring down the same corridor for all of a second, then I glimpsed a door on the left side of the corridor that had not been there before.

 _"_ Ohoho _…"_ Shadow Yukiko's voice laughed mockingly.

 _I'm very much starting to dislike her._

We moved toward the new door, slower now from disorientation.

Then it fucking happened again!

"Okay, this is some bullshit," I said as I stared down the hallway.

"Yep," Yosuke-san agreed, groaning.

"Let's turn around," said Yu-san. "Moving forward doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. May as well see what's behind us."

Our path was blocked by two floating cubes with weird silver masks: Bronze Dice.

" _Garu!_ " Yosuke-san yelled. Jiraiya sent a torrent of wind at one of the dice. It did not do much.

" _Zio!_ " Yu-san called out. Valkyrie hit one of them with lightning, and it went down. Yu-san repeated the process with the other just as it seemed to be gearing up to attack.

We piled on and started to whack away, but then …

Chie-san was knocked back as the one she was nearest to shot up into the air. A dark orb with a glowing purple centre appeared where it had just been. We backed away instinctively, but a few seconds later, the orb exploded outwards.

As the force of it hit me, I braced myself and managed to stay on my feet. My feet skidded along the floor as the force of the explosion pushed me back. It was no normal explosion. Some sort of energy – Almighty, we would come to call it – that hurt like an absolute _motherfucker_. I barely kept from cringing in pain.

Yosuke-san was down on his knees. Yu-san had been more successful in holding his ground than I had been. Chie-san was down on the floor.

The one consolation of all this was the fact that the Bronze Dice destroyed themselves to hurt us this badly.

"Ow …" Chie-san groaned as she stood herself up. "Anyone catch the number of the bus that just hit me …?"

"Must've missed it," said Yosuke-san.

"I suggest we run past them next time," said Yu-san.

"Seconded," I agreed. I glanced behind us to see Teddie-san at a safe distance, as usual, and felt a small pang of resentment toward him. I tried my best to brush it away.

I looked at the money those fuckers dropped. ￥440. Not fucking worth it.

Yu-san fished around in his pocket and took out some Peach Seeds. He handed them out to us. "Everyone eat some of these," he ordered.

I ate what he gave me. I was surprised to find that I actually felt better.

We went on until we discovered another door. We weren't teleported away from this one by an effect that made me wonder if we should ever get any epileptic teammates, thank God.

"I sense someone beyond this door …" Teddie-san said. He gasped. "It's that girl's scent!"

There was no hesitation. Yu-san just pushed on in, and we followed.

There was Shadow Yukiko, stood right next to—

 _Oh, what the fuck?_ I thought.

It was a giant well-armoured knight on the back of a suit of floating horse armour that seemed to act as an actual floating horse.

Shadow Yukiko chuckled. **"My Prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?"**

Teddie-san cried out in terror. "I've never seen such a strong one before! I-It's attacking us!"

 _Thanks for the boost in confidence there, Teddie-san._

The horse whinnied and raised up on its "hind legs" as the Avenger Knight raised its massive lance in the air. The area it was standing in lit up in yellow for a second, then it came back down.

" _Bash!_ " Yosuke-san yelled. Jiraiya gave the Avenger Knight a good punch, but it barely seemed to do anything.

" _Rakunda!_ "

At Yu-san's call, a small purple light appeared before the Avenger Knight, sucking something inside it before disappearing.

The Avenger Knight jabbed its lance at Yu-san, who barely managed to dodge out of the way.

" _Agi!_ " I yelled, which turned out to be a great decision.

As the fireball Gwyn flung at him collided, the Avenger Knight was knocked back and its horse fell to its "knees," and slumped on its mount.

We took advantage of this for as long as we could, battering away at the Avenger Knight before it stood back up.

The first thing the Avenger Knight did was raise up on its mount again. This time, a box of solid red formed around it for a few moments before dissipating.

 _ **"My fire will no longer weaken the enemy,"**_ Gwyn helpfully inform me.

 _Well, shit,_ I thought simply, then got back to it.

" _Tarukaja!_ " Chie-san yelled, and Yosuke-san was briefly shrouded in yellow light. This was mere moments before the end of the Avenger Knight's lance hit her. She gave a yell and was knocked back, but luckily, the lance was so big that the point really wasn't all that sharp by our standards, so it hit her with more blunt force than anything.

" _Bash!_ "

Jiraiya hit the Avenger Knight right in the back, this time knocking it forward somewhat. It swung around, swinging its lance with it, knocking Jiraiya to the side. Yosuke-san cringed, but otherwise showed no reaction.

" _Skewer!_ " I shouted, at the same time as Yu-san yelled, " _Zio!_ "

The Avenger Knight was hit by both attacks, but showed no visible response. I believe we damaged it, however.

Chie-san sent Tomoe in with a Skewer. It didn't do much.

Our Personas were wailing on the Avenger Knight much like we normally did whenever we did an All-Out Attack. He was lashing out with his lance. Sometimes he did; sometimes he didn't. He hit Gwyn once or twice, and let me tell you, it hurt like a bitch to feel what that lance would _actually_ feel like if I was the appropriate size for it to be able to pierce me.

 _ **"His fire resistance has reverted,"**_ Gwyn informed me after a while.

 _Fucking A._

" _Agi!_ "

My heart sunk as the fireball flew straight past the Avenger Knight rather than hitting him. My heart beat in my ears in the adrenaline this fight was filling me with. It completely drowned out all other sounds, which is probably why I never heard any of the others warning me about what came next.

The tip of the lance collided with my chest, and the force of it sent me flying backwards. I landed right on my ass, adding some sore cheeks to my sore chest.

I also felt like absolute shit and was having trouble with my movements.

 _Oh, what the fuck is this …?_ I thought as the strength drained out of me. Despite the fact that I was able to – with great effort – haul myself to my feet, I had to put all my concentration into it, otherwise, with how I was feeling, I felt I might flop to the floor like a dummy without a hand up its ass. _Jeff, where are you …?_ I thought in sudden delirium. _You got your hand in Achmed's skull …? I think I need it more, buddy …_

I was only barely aware of the fight still going on.

Yu-san used Rakunda.

The Avenger Knight charged itself up.

Chie-san used Bufu.

Yosuke-san used Bash again, this time knocking the Avenger Knight over.

The others commenced an All-Out Attack without me.

The Avenger Knight exploded into blackness.

Yu-san approached me and shoved something down my throat. Dokudami Tea, he told me it was later. Apparently, I had been poisoned by that lance somehow. I felt better the second I swallowed the tea. I wondered what the hell kind of poison makes someone think they're one of Jeff Dunham's puppets.

I felt somewhat stronger after the experience, though, which is _something_ positive to take away from it.

"You okay?" Yu-san asked me.

"Yeah …" I said, taking deep breaths. "Yeah, I'm fine. Fuck, that was nasty …"

Yu-san picked something up from the floor just underneath where the Avenger Knight had been. It was some sort of glass key.

Yukiko-san's voice resounded around us once again in a chuckle. I looked around and realised that Shadow Yukiko was no longer in the room. She must have left soon after the fight had started.

 _"If you really are my Prince, then we will surely meet again,"_ her voice said. _"I am but a trapped soul … I cannot leave this place even if I wished …"_ There was another chuckle, then no more.

"I don't sense her anymore …" said Teddie-san. "Oh! Are you okay, Sensei?"

"Is _he_ okay?" I couldn't help asking. I was the guy who'd just gotten over being poisoned, damn it!

"We survived, Teddie-san," said Yu-san. "That's all that really matters here."

"I'm sure we've got a long ways to go," said Teddie-san in concern. "Don't push yourselves too hard! If you're tired, you should head back!"

"After we find the stairs. I think that fight took a lot out of all of us."

I couldn't argue. I _wanted_ to, but I couldn't. I was well aware that tiring ourselves out would likely fuck us over when it came to the inevitable fight with Yukiko-san's Shadow – seriously, those things were like an event flag in a video game or some shit – but my conscience kept on screaming at me, _You can't leave Yukiko-san in here! She could die! You can't know what'll happen while you're gone!_

Fuck my conscience. It does nothing but make me paranoid.

We managed to find our way back to the door that was locked before. Yu-san used the glass key on it, and it opened to reveal the stairs to the next level. Then Yu-san crushed something in one hand, and suddenly we were at the entrance of the castle again.

"What was that?" Yosuke-san asked what Chie-san and I must have been thinking, too.

"Teddie-san says it's called a Goho-M," Yu-san explained. "He only gave me three. But I figured we were all too tired to risk fighting our way back out again."

After that, we all went home.

Yu-san was right. We were all fucking exhausted.

* * *

I went home, ate dinner with Okaa-san and Baiko, and went right up to bed afterwards. I passed right out.

My first time battling with Gwyn was apparently more exhausting than I thought.

* * *

 **I hope that was worth the wait. Once again, I'm very sorry. There is a bright side to this, I suppose: you didn't wait as long as the readers of some of my other stories.**

 **Not such a bright side for them, but you take what you can get, I guess.**

 **As you can probably tell, I've started doing this as a day per chapter thing. This means some chapters will be really short, some will be really long. I think the variation in length might help me out when it comes to working on this.**

 **The Avenger Knight fight scene should emphasise something to you: translating turn-based combat into a written fight scene is a BITCH. I'm still not convinced I did that scene any justice.**

 **Now, before I go, some notes on some reviews.**

 **Arc of Carona:** Thank you.

 **Dis Lexic:** Well, I hope he didn't disappoint. I couldn't wait at the time, either – and that game sure as hell didn't disappoint!

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Indeed. Plus, as urgent as the matter is, I find it unrealistic that they'd be able to go into Mayonaka every single day with no negative side effects; so they could use the rest. I hope Gwyn didn't disappoint. Well, your ideas are very helpful – thank you once again for all the wonderful suggestions.

 **Azrael:** No problem.

 **Chaotic Hunger:** I'm glad. I mean, how could I _not_ reference it? Those comics are hilarious.

 **Hishin Trueflame:** Mate, it's a game where you jump into an alternate dimension inside a TV to fight demons. I think being stingy about realism is 100% pointless. That being said, I have made a token effort to try and be more accurately Japanese, but I certainly don't plan on bending over backwards to do it.

 **Jacob Deitz:** And here I am updating over a year later. :P It's a fantastic game.

 **Guest:** I won't spoil anything, but I can tell you that this and my _Persona 5_ story definitely share a universe.

 **Guest:** Spoilers. ;)

 **Hydrolic06:** Here's an update. Sorry for the wait. I am bowing my head in shame as I type this.

 **Haye2:** Thank you.

 **D.g.f.3.1:** Oh, yes, because Zorro, Captain Kidd, and the fucking Necronomicon were so Japanese in _Persona 5_. (Sorry if that came across as rude; I have a bad habit of being blunt.) I'm very pleased to know you enjoy my stories. Thank you for the support.

 **Well, I think that's everyone. See you all next time.**

 **Oh, and I've set up a TV Tropes page for the story! Check it out if you like, and if you could add some tropes that occur to you, I'd much appreciate it.**


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